The World Isn't Perfect
by Vie
Summary: Lily Evans goes to Hogwarts, but things don't turn out as planned. When the sorting hat tells her her faults and puts her into an unexpected house, Lily soon finds that the world isn't perfect LS friendshipromanceangst?NOT I repeat NOT AU ch 20 is up
1. The Arrival

**Ok hi everyone! I guess I should say that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters! :) I want to thank my friend Shel (Aly) for helping me decide to write this story and helping me come up with title (I'm bad with titles).**  
  


The World Isn't Perfect: Ch. 1  
  


Looking into the mirror in her room, Lily sighed to herself. Sadly, her appearance was the one thing about herself that she did not like. She was short, but she could deal with that. Many great people in the world were short, take Napoleon for example. Another down point for her was that she was red-headed, but she usually called it strawberry blonde, which was good because strawberry blonde sounded so much more distinguished. The one thing that bothered her most about her appearance was her nose. It was a little too big for her face and had freckles all over it. 

After a moment she stepped away from the mirror and decided to think of a happier topic. Hogwarts. She was very excited that _she_, Lily Evans, muggle (she still thought that this was a strange word) born, could be trained to be a witch. True she was smart, talented, kind hearted and just plain wonderful, but in her wildest dreams she never thought of herself as truly magical.

"Lily, are you coming? You don't want to be late...I don't know what we'd do if you missed the train!"

She ran out of her bedroom door, jumped down the stairs and started trying to help her father drag her trunk out to the car. The time had come at last.  
  


***

It wasn't until after she had arrived at the train station that she realized she had no idea how to get onto the platform. She looked desperately around, and finally decided to go somewhere in between platforms Nine and Ten and see if anything happened. 

When Lily got there, she saw a boy standing by the barrier between the two platforms that looked about a year or so older than her. He was tall, slightly handsome, with slightly greasy dark hair. The thing that made her decide to like him at once was the fact that _he has a big nose just like me!_ Well, in truth it wasn't _just_ like hers, his looked like it was big by nature and hers looked like she just hadn't grown into it yet, but she didn't care.

She walked right up to him, feeling confident and asked, "Excuse me, but I am looking for platform 9 and 3/4, and I don't know how to get there. You look like you're going to Hogwarts too. I was wondering..."

He turned slightly towards her and looked down at her in a haughty manner. "Muggle born are you?" He asked in a slightly snobbish voice.

"Y-y-yes," she stammered, feeling much less confident than before. "I was wondering if you could help me...you see..."

He raised his eyebrows slightly and said grudgingly, "Fine, I'll help you...you walk through this barrier and it takes you 9 and 3/4." He looked at her lost looking face and finally his own face softened. "Here," he said holding out his hand, "Shall we go?"

She took his hand and stepped through the barrier to platform 9 and 3/4.

Even though she knew what was coming, she was not used to magic, and so she was shocked at her new surroundings. She looked around in slight awe at the train and the boy who had just let go of her hand laughed. 

"Here," he said lifting her trunk into the train. "You probably can't lift this by yourself."

Lily stared at him for a moment wondering whether she should thank him for the help or be mad at him for the insult. True, she couldn't lift the trunk by herself, but _he_ wasn't supposed to point that out to her.

She didn't have much time to think about this, though, because a moment later some people called out to someone named "Severus," and he turned away to wave. He then turned back to her and said, "Well, it looks like this is goodbye. I think you'll be all right from here on out.

Lily smiled and nodded and felt more confident. Of course she'd be all right. "Thank you...I hope I'll be able to see you around Hogwarts...uh...what's your name again?"

He smiled very slightly back and said in a cocky voice, "Severus-Severus Snape. Maybe I'll see you around, but I somehow doubt it. I don't think there's a chance you'll be in Slytherin, which is my house. They don't usually accept many Mud..." he looked at her and changed what he was going to say, "Muggle borns."

She nodded slowly. "Well, my name's Lily Evans and I..."

A voice yelled through the crowd, this time sounding impatient, "SEVERUS!"

He turned to see who was calling, then hastily back to Lily. "Well, Lily, maybe I'll see you around." And with that, he walked off and disappeared into the crowd.

***

Lily had easily found herself a seat on the train. There were two other people seated on the opposite side of the car. One of them was tall, handsome with dark hair, which was so untidy it made her want to brush it. He had glasses and looked confident in himself. The second was also dark haired, but his was much tidier. He was shorter than the first, and had a cocky look about him. 

She was sitting there thinking how on earth she was going to make any friends when the second boy came up to her and smiled. Lily nearly melted. His smile made him look as handsome as a few movie stars she loved, and also took away his cocky look. He now looked cheerful and friendly.

"Hi," he said cheerfully, "how are you? My name's Sirius, and I'm a second year Gryffindor. Who are you?"

She smiled back feeling relieved and said, "I'm Lily, and I'm new. I'm..." She hesitated. Judging on how Severus acted, not many people liked Muggle borns. She finally decided she couldn't keep it a secret forever. "Muggle born." She finished.

He smiled again and sat down opposite her. "Hello, Lily." Then he looked over in the corner where his friend was still seated and yelled, "James! Get over her and meet Lily. I promise she won't bite."

James stood up and walked over looking a little embarrased. "Hello Lily," he said, "Uh...as Sirius told you, I'm James and um...well...I'm a second year Gryffindor too." He sat down quickly next to Sirius.

"Hi James!" She said cheerily. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad. She already had three friends. _Guy_ friends even and those were usually harder to make for her than friends that were girls.

She started slightly as the train jolted forward. _This is it, _she thought, _I'm finally on my way to Hogwarts._

The three of them sat in a slightly awkward silence for a while, until Lily decided to break it. "Do you two know Severus? I just met him at the train station. He's from Slytherin."

Sirius and James looked at each other. 

"Uh yes...we know Severus," Sirius finally said. 

"Well?" She asked. "I think he's nice. He helped me get here in the first place."

"Did he?" Sirius said after a slight pause.

Finally James spoke up. "Well, let me put it this way. Slytherin isn't exactly our favorite house, and Snape isn't exactly one of our favorite people. He is rude and well, just plain awful. At least he could wash his hair."

Lily retorted, "He was nice to me...and maybe its not his fault that his hair is that way."

Sirius smiled slightly and shook his head. "Slytherin and Gryffindor houses aren't exactly friends." He leaned forward slightly. "Take it from me, Lily, you don't want to be in Slytherin."

"Oh," she said sounding disappointed. "Well, I hope I get into Gryffindor with you then."

"You probably will," said James smiling, "that's where all the cool people go...and you seem cool to me."

Beaming at the compliment, Lily enjoyed the rest of the ride to the school. She was especially happy after Sirius bought them all chocolate frogs.  


_Things are going all right._ She thought to herself

***

When the train arrived at Hogwarts, she was shuffled off into a separate group with all of the other first years. She looked back into the crowd for some trace of James or Sirius. She didn't find any; they had disappeared into the crowd.

She got aboard a boat with a few more students and took in her surroundings. Far away she could see the castle that was Hogwarts school. It looked so...well...magical. She had never seen a place like this before.

Their boat ride was soon over and they were lead up the castle steps to the entrance way where they waited. Soon they were led into a room off to the right. It was a grand, wonderful room with the roof matching the sky outside, a cloudless starry sky.

The whole school was seated looking at them. A teacher came up with a stool and a tattered looking hat. "The sorting hat," the teacher called it. Lily was surprised when it spoke and rattled off a long poem about Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. 

After the poem was through, the teacher called out a name, "Adams, Ralf!" He sat down on the stool and put the hat on his head. It yelled out quickly, "Gryffindor!." The next two people also went to Gryffindor. Lily felt a little worried about this. _What if the hat only chooses a certain number of students for each house?_ She thought. 

Soon, it was her turn. She went up to the stool, sat down, and put on the hat. She was very surprised when she heard it muttering quietly. "Hmm...interesting...could fit in any house if she'd try more...Too lazy to be in Ravenclaw...hasn't spent enough time studying...Too self centered to be in Hufflepuff...and also too self centered to be Gryffindor...Selfishness fits best in Slythiern after all..." _ No! Please no!_ She thought desperately. "Slytherin!" It called out. 

Lily's heart sank. She was in Slytherin! She thought that Muggle borns couldn't be in Slytherin! She walked forward slowly to the Slytherin table and then realized something that was different from when the others had been chosen for their houses. Before they were all cheered. Now there was almost silence. She heard slight mutters of "mudblood" coming from the Slytherin table. 

She felt ready to cry. She hurried and sat down at the very end of the Slytherin table, alone. She wanted to go rip that sorting hat to shreds. And then a sound filled her ears; it was the sound of someone clapping. She looked around slowly and saw towards the other end of the table. Severus was clapping, looking like he was bringing every ounce of courage he possessed to do it. 

After a few seconds, she heard a few other claps coming from the Gryffindor table. Finally a few people around Severus started clapping, but they looked put out about it. The clapping slowly grew until she received a small, but polite applause. 

She looked down the table for Severus, to try to thank him, but he was looking away from her now, towards the new student putting on the hat. That student was placed in Ravenclaw, and the next two in Hufflepuff. This continued for a few more minutes.

After a small speech by the headmaster, the feast started. She felt very isolated, sitting all by herself. She became depressed and felt like she was going to cry again. Again, Severus came to her rescue. "Its time to go now, Lily. I must admit that I'm shocked you're in Slytherin, but I know the Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes. Come on, I'll show you the way to the Slytherin common room."

She looked up gratefully at him. They walked out of the Great Hall and caught up with a few of Severus's friends. He introduced her to them. None of them seemed very excited to meet her, but they were polite. Even if they were only civil for Severus's sake, it was something.

Life would be bearable, all because of Severus. That night she could never found an opportunity to thank him, though. She was hurried upstairs to her dormitory which she shared with four other first year girls. They looked at her as though she were dirt under their feet, but for the most part, their words were polite enough.

She sighed and crawled into bed. She would be all right. Her life at Hogwarts was just beginning; she had plenty of time to make more friends later.


	2. The Almost Fight

**Ok hi everyone! I guess I should say that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters! :) I want to thank my friend Shel (Aly) for helping me**

**decide to write this story and helping me come up with title (I'm bad with titles).**  
  


Oh and just a note...be open-minded! :) I decided to be original and put her in Slytherin...since everyone basically puts her in Gryffindor.   
  


The World Isn't Perfect: ch. 2  


Lily woke suddenly to the noise of someone yelling. 

"Lily! Aren't you ever going to get up? I swear you sleep like a log!"

She quickly opened her eyes and jumped out of bed. Rebecca Smith, one of her roomates, was looking at her with annoyance. Giving her a small innocent smile, she looked around for her clothes and wondered how late she was. She wasn't used to getting up early. Hurriedly getting dressed, she checked the mirror and shuddered. Her hair was a mess. Quickly grabbing a brush and, in a frenzy, swiped through her hair. Finally she was satisfied with it. She ran down the stairs to the Slytherin common room.

It was almost empty, which means most people were already at breakfast. She had been there a month and still wasn't used to getting up when everyone else did. Looking around the room for someone she kind of considered a friend and found no one. Severus and his friends were nowhere in sight.

Other than Severus's group, she had made no more friends in Slytherin. Most people looked down on her, which she didn't blame them for after what the hat had told her. For the first time in her life she began to notice her faults. She was extremely clumsy sometimes, especially when there was a boy around that she wanted to impress.

After a moment's reflection, she decided to go down to the Great Hall alone. Hopefully she would find some of her friends from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. She had made friends with the girls from these houses relatively easily. Noone in Gryffindor, however, wanted anything to do with her, except for James, Sirius, and their two best friends, Remus and Peter. They were friendly to her, but she didn't see them very often.

She arrived at the table, however, seeing no one she knew. Quickly, she headed over towards the Slytherin table and found Severus. She sat down a few seats away from him since his friends took the seats directly around him.

Noone noticed her as she ate quickly and quietly. She was leaving the table, ready to hurry upstairs to get her books, when Severus called out, "Hi Lily!" She waved cheerily back, but continued to walk until she was back in her dormitory gathering her books.

She then scurried away to her first class, Potions, she took a seat next to the person Lily considered to be her best friend, Tara Richards, a Ravenclaw. 

"Hi Lily," Tara said cheerfully. 

"Hi Tara," Lily replied, slightly out of breath.

"The most exciting thing happened to me!" Tara said with a huge grin on her face. "Guess who smiled at me today?"

"Who?" Lily asked curiously.

Tara looked ready to explode with excitement. "James Potter! He is the most handsome second year in all of Hogwarts. Everyone I've told is so jealous of me...except of course _you_won't be...he _talks_ to you on a regular basis."

Lily rolled her eyes slightly. "That's probably only because he pities me, Tara."

Tara was about to answer when their teacher walked in to begin the class. 

Potions passed as it usually did. It was slightly boring, but bearable. Lily picked up her books and bag and started of to her next class. Tara followed closely behind.

"I've just thought of something," she said, "Lily, _you_ could get James to be friends with me! Oh this is so perfect...I can't believe I never thought of this before!"

Lily replied embarrassedly, "But...but...I don't really know him all that well, I can't do much good...I mean..." She turned to face Tara to plead her case and didn't notice that she had run into something until she was on the ground.

She looked up in surprise and saw in complete horror who she had run into. It was James. Her face went bright red and she began hurriedly trying to pick up all of her books. 

He bent down and started to help her. "Don't worry bout it Lily, everyone does stupid clumsy things sometimes." 

_I'm stupid and clumsy! _ She thought to herself. _That's what the most handsome boy in the whole school thinks of me!_

She jumped to her feet, grabbed the rest of her books from James and ran all the way back to the Slytherin common room in tears.

Throwing herself into one of the chairs, she didn't even notice that she wasn't alone. Severus was seated in a corner, hunched over a book and hurriedly writing on a piece of parchment. When Lily entered, he looked up in complete surprise.

"Lily! What's wrong? What're you doing here?" he asked standing up and walking over to her.

Feeling mortified, Lily tried to wipe her tears away and make herself look normal. It didn't work very well. She decided to try to change the subject. "Well...what're _you_ doing here Severus? Aren't you supposed to be going to some class or another?"

Looking away from her face he said, "Uh...well...yea...but I kinda...forgot to do my homework for Potions..." He broke off and then abruptly turned back to her. "Back to my question...what's wrong? What happened?"

Sinking deeper into her chair she said dejectedly, "I made a fool of myself, and...he...he thinks I'm a stupid clumsy idiot!"

He raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Lily, he's the fool if he thinks something like that. Who is he? I'll go beat him up for you."

"No...no...I really was clumsy...and stupid...I deserved it...I mean James had every right..." she stammered.

"He did not have a right," he said and then brightened slightly, "James did you say? James Potter?"

She nodded looking miserable.

"I've been looking for an excuse to beat James up for quite a while lately. Thanks Lily," he said smiling. "Making a little first year cry, I mean you're no more than a child and..."

Her face reddened again, this time in anger. She jumped up and almost yelled at him, "YOU--You're no better! I am not _little. _I am _not _a _child_!" With that, Lily pushed past Snape and ran into her dormitory. She threw herself on her bed and started crying more than ever.

***

The next few days were the worst of her life. She spent most of her time studying or trying desperately to avoid Severus and James. The latter was not an easy task, especially since both of them were trying to find her. 

Lily had never felt more alone in her life, and finally gave in, allowing Severus to sit next to her during lunch. She stared down at her plate hoping he didn't see how embarrassed she was. 

"So you've decided not to run away from me today? Good, because I've been wanting to talk to you for some time." He looked at her to see her reaction. She gave none.

"Well..." he continued, "I'm sorry for calling you a child, it was awful of me...will you forgive me?" She risked a glance up at his face and saw him looking very uncertain.

She finally looked him in the eyes. "Ok...I suppose...if you really want me to be..." 

He smiled at her, "Thanks Lily. Now, do you want to come with Lucius and me to beat up James and Sirius or not?"

Lily looked at him, horrified. "No! Please don't Severus...its really not that big of a deal. I'm over it...it was all my fault..."

"Lily, we're gonna fight them whether you come with us or not..." he said in an exasperated tone.

"But..." she said suddenly. "Why can't you be friends? I really don't see why you hate each other so much...I mean you have so much in common. You're both boys, and you're both stupid!"

Severus burst out laughing, "Good one, Lily." He stood up and said, "Well, see you around then." With that he walked off towards his friends.

Lily stood up as soon as they were out of sight and ran after them. She had to stop it, and even if she couldn't stop it she had to see what happened. 

She caught up to them as they were walking down a corridor towards a group of boys that included James and Sirius. How was she going to stop this? It was all her fault. 

Then a cocky voice, Lucius Malfoy's she thought it was, called out, "Hey Potter, what do you mean by calling our friend stupid and clumsy?"

Lily thought to herself, _Our friend? Lucius barely even acknowledges I exist!_

The crowd surrounding James and Ramius casually moved away down the corridor, leaving them standing alone except for Peter and Remus. 

James looked at them as if he had no idea what they were talking about. "What do you mean, Lucius?" he replied calmly.

Severus spoke up in a voice even more haughty than Lucius's, if that was possible. "We're talking about Lily of course, James." He glared at him in a way that made Lily shiver.

An expression of recognition passed over James's face. "Oh," he said, "I was just saying that everyone was clumsy and stupid sometimes...it was only a joke..." Then he took on a haughty voice of his own, "But of course, you wouldn't understand that since you two have no sense of humor."

Snape smiled slightly, a smile that had no humor in it. "Lily didn't take it as a joke either, James, in fact she was quite upset by it...and I think, and I'm sure you'll agree, that anyone that tortures girls, especially ones that are younger than them, should be punched."

_He's a fool, _thought Lily, _doesn't he realize he's hopelessly outnumbered? I have to do something, _she decided.

She walked forward and stepped in between the two groups. "Really...its no big deal...please don't fight...can't we all be friends? I mean...what's the point of fighting anyway?"

All six boys looked at her as if she were insane.

"Um...Lily...maybe its best if you went back to the Slytherin common room," suggested Sirius.

"No!" she said. "I won't let you guys fight over something as stupid as this, especially when it has to do with me. I'm not leaving unless Severus and Lucius come with me." Her jaw set with determination as she looked from one group to the other.

Just then the Potions teacher rounded the corner. He said in a suspicious voice, "What's going on here?" He looked from Severus's glare, to James's clenched fists, and to Lily standing in the middle looking determined.

"Uh nothing," Lucius finally spoke up, "we were just going back to Slytherin common room with Lily...common Severus...Lily...common..."

So Lily decided to follow the retreating Lucius, and after a moment Severus followed even though he looked like he didn't want to.

Lily waited for him to catch up to talk to him. "Now, isn't this better than being in a huge fight that you couldn't possibly win?"

Severus turned his still glaring face toward her. Her eyes widened slightly with surprise. "I wanted to punch him..." he muttered.

"Yes..." she replied, "but what good would that have done?"

He shook his head and muttered, "Girls," under his breath and walked faster to catch up with Lucius.

***

Through the following months, Lily took care to make sure there were no more outbursts such as the narrowly escaped fight. When she hung around with James's group, she tried to forget the fact that she was a Slytherin. She tried to avoid the subject of Severus, and if it ever came up, she'd change the subject.

She did about the same thing when talking to Severus. She didn't even mention James or any of his friends. If the topic did come up, she would make some joke about how ridiculous their feud was and would find some annoying habit they both had in common to show how much they were alike.

When Christmas break came, Lily decided to go home. Even though she was having a much better time at Hogwarts than she had before, she hadn't seen her family in a long time.

Before she left, she said goodbye to James's group. For some strange reason, Remus wasn't there. When she asked after him, they seemed to avoid her question. 

She gave them all a small hug and smiled. "Have a good Christmas you 3...and I'll send you all presents."

Peter, who rarely spoke, smiled greedily, and said, "I hope its something you can eat."

Lily decided then and there not to send him anything he could eat. He was already plump enough already. She smiled secretively, though.

"Well goodbye Lily," said Sirius.

"See you," James said smiling. "I've got a present to send you too."

She smiled and walked to the Slytherin common room to say goodbye to Severus.

He was easily found, and she walked up to him. 

She gave him a small hug and said, "Goodbye Severus, have a nice Christmas."

His face showed complete shock, and he said a little embarrassedly, "Goodbye Lily, hope you have a merry Christmas too."

"I'll send your present to you on Christmas," she said smiling and picking up her bag she was taking home for the holidays.

"Oh yes..." he said sounding even more surprised. "I'll send you a present too," he smiled back and said, "Goodbye Lily, see you after the holidays."

She waved before she left the common room and from there went out the main doors of Hogwarts.   
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Tests

**Ok hi everyone! I guess I should say that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters! :) I want to thank my friend Shel (Aly) for helping me decide to write this story and helping me come up with title (I'm bad with titles).**

Oh and just a note...be open-minded! :) I decided to be original and put her in Slytherin...since everyone basically puts her in Gryffindor. 

Another note-when you're reviewing the story, if you don't like it, please put in what you don't like about it-so I know how to improve. :)

The World Isn't Perfect: Ch. 3

The Christmas holidays passed quickly for Lily. Her parents spoiled her and her sister Petunia annoyed and made fun of her. She spent most of her time impatiently waiting for Christmas. 

When it came, she was not disappointed. Her parents had bought her lots and lots of expensive presents, but the things she got from her friends at Hogwarts were the most exciting. Tara had sent her a small bottle with the words, "Freckle be-gone" on it. It had an attached note that said:

Dear Lily,

I remembered how much you complained about your freckles, and I mentioned it to my mom. She gave me a bottle of this, and said that it got rid of all of your freckles. I hope it works for you! 

Merry Christmas,

Tara

She nearly squealed for joy with this news. Her face would soon be freckle free! Before she rushed off to try it, though, she decided to open the rest of her presents.

There was a large package wrapped in bright red paper with the names, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter scrawled across it. She hurriedly unwrapped it, but made sure to leave the name "James" unripped. Inside there was a bunch of assorted candies. She smiled and popped an every flavored bean in her mouth and grimaced. It was lima bean.

She moved onto the next and last present. It was from Severus with an attached note:

Lily,

Sorry this isn't a very fun present, but when I saw it I remembered your problem with getting up on time. Its an alarm clock that knows when you have to get up and wakes you up...it starts out nicely calling your name, but if you don't get up it jumps on you and starts screaming...

Hope you have a great Christmas...

Severus

Lily pulled out the alarm clock with a laugh. It was just what she needed. She hoped she didn't become so annoyed with it that she ended up breaking it, though.

After opening the presents, she tried the freckle cream. It worked just like Tara said it would. It was perfect! She now had a perfect complexion, which she spent the rest of her vacation showing off to her sister Petunia.

***

Lily returned to Hogwarts excited to see her friends again. She was disappointed, however, that none of them were there waiting for her when she arrived. 

A bit sulkily, she made her way to the Slytherin common room. There she found Snape. He was pouring over a book. She cleared her throat in a low and expectant tone. 

Without looking up he said exasperated, "_Really_ Lucius, if I don't catch up on my Potions work I'm going to _fail_. My parents even sent me back to school early so I could turn it in..." He then looked up briefly.

"Ooh..." he said surprised. "Its you Lily, welcome back." He then went back to pouring over his book.

With a small "humph", Lily went up to her Dormitory and put away all of her things. She put her new alarm clock on her night stand. She had tried it out, and it had worked, even though it was jumping up and down and smoking by the time she finally got up.

She decided to go back downstairs to see how close Severus was to being done. When she got there, he was looking over a piece of parchment looking pleased with himself. She went over and sat next to him

"This is all your fault, you know," he said. "That planner you gave me for Christmas that magically tells me my grades and teacher comments...uh...my parents got a hold of it...and they weren't too pleased with how I'm doing in Potions..."

"Well its your own fault! You never do any work in that class," she said in a huffy voice, but at the same time feeling bad that she had got Severus in trouble.

"But...its so boring! I already know everything I need to know about potions..." he said defensively.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well how many more do you have to make up?"

He looked down at his parchment, "This should do it...I've gotta go turn it in now. Wanna come?"

"Um..." she said slowly, "as tempting as going to talk to the Potions teacher about late work is...I haven't said "hi" to the rest of my friends yet...I'll catch you later."

"I can't say I blame you, Lily," he replied walking towards the door, "see you."

Lily followed him out and then went in search of Tara and the "Gryffindor group."

She found Tara first, who ran up to Lily with complete excitement.

"Lily!" she yelled, "how are you? I see the freckle be-gone worked! Look...my mom gave me makeup for Christmas...and all the guys are talking to me now. I mean...James talks to me now, Sirius smiled at me, and even Severus looked at me twice!" She giggled, "Could life get any better?"

Lily rolled her eyes and thought how fun it would be to push her down the stairs, but she wisely decided not to. "I guess not," she replied simply. Lily personally thought that the makeup looked ridiculous on her. Tara was only 12! All the guys looking at her?_ Humph_. She thought. _Guys are just stupid enough to do that_.

Quickly making some excuse, Lily left Tara with some of her other friends. She didn't think she could take much more of Tara right then.

Luckily, she soon found James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all standing around talking somewhere near where she guessed the Gryffindor common room was.

"Lily!" they all cried as one, except for Peter who was looking put out about something.

"Guys!" she yelled back happily. 

After having a happy conversation with them all (except Peter who was sulking because he didn't get any candy for Christmas), she returned to the Slytherin common room to do some reading. The sorting hat experience had made her decide to study more. She was determined to be a top student, if only to prove that stupid piece of cloth wrong.

***

And prove the piece of cloth wrong, she did. Lily became one of the top students of her year. She even was able to help Severus with some of his essays, and in return, he helped her on the ones she didn't understand, which were mostly the essays for Potions class.

The months passed very quickly for Lily. She spent her time either studying or doing fun things with either her friends in Gryffindor or her friends in Slytherin. During this time, Lily actually made a few more friends in Slytherin. Snape's friends started to accept her as a regular, and even the girls in her dormitory finally decided to like her. Which made life much easier.

***

The time for end of the year tests came much too quickly for everyone. All of the students were studying hard. All except one: Severus. Lily tried to get him to study. She prodded, nagged, bribed, and even threatened him to study. Severus flatly refused.

One day, Lily was feeling extremely mad at him for having fun while the rest of them were miserable. She finally threw down her books and stalked off to find him.

When she found him she looked him right in the eyes. "Snape!" she yelled, "it is no fair that the rest of us are miserable! You won't even pass your tests! You'll have to retake second year!"

He just looked at her.

Then Lily did something rash. "James studies! He has the patience to! You're gonna fail and end up in the same year as me!"

Severus stared at her cooly and remarked, "Well of course James needs to study. I don't need to. I am smart enough to pass without. I did last year and I will again."

"How are you so sure?" she asked in a nagging tone.

"I just am," he replied. "Besides, it just proves that I am better than James, not that I need any more proof..."

Lily gave him a disbelieving look. "Well I guess you can go off and have fun by yourself. I'm going to study like everyone else so I'll pass and won't have to retake my year."

"Fine," Severus said, unconcerned. "I will have fun. See you later."

Lily felt like sticking her tongue out at him, but instead stalked off towards the Slytherin common room.

***

During the next few days, Lily thought she was going to die from studying too much. The first day of exams came, however, and she was surprisingly still alive, if a bit sick.

Her first test was potions, which she managed to get through without blowing something up. Gaining confidence as she went, she moved on to the next, Defense against the Dark Arts. 

All in all her tests went ok, except for the History fo Magic. She got confused on some of the Goblin names, and ended up just guessing on some of her answers. By the end of the testing time, Lily thought she had never done anything else in her life but study and take tests and that she would never do anything else ever again.

Tests eventually ended, though, and the whole school erupted with joy. Lily even decided to forgive Severus.

The waiting period before knowing the test scores was spent playing outside. The end-of-year feast was soon, and it looked like Hufflepuff was going to win the Housecup. Ravenclaw already had won the Quidditch Cup, so both of those houses were extremely happy and bragged at every opportunity. Especially Tara.

"We have the best Chasers ever!" She bragged one time as she walked up to Severus and Lily.

"I'm sure," said Severus sounding unconvinced, "but I doubt they could get past me if I were on the Slytherin team."

Lily sighed quietly. Severus was going to try out to be the Slytherin Keeper for Quidditch next year.

After waiting for a minute, Lily decided no one was paying attention to her and left Tara and Severus to their arguing. She was beginning to think Severus really liked Tara. She was beginning to think every guy liked Tara.

Lily went upstairs, considering writing a letter to her parents asking for makeup.

"No," she thought sadly, "that would be ridiculous."

With nothing else she wanted to do, Lily laid down on her bed to take a nap.

***

Lily woke up with a start, feeling her alarm clock standing on top of her. She was getting better; it had not started jumping yet. She was not that surprised that she had gotten up early, though. Today was the day the tests scores came out.

Quickly, she sprang out of bed and looked for her clothes. She was ready and downstairs in record time.

Severus, surprisingly, was there waiting for her.

He said in a confident voice, "Want to go see our placement now Lily?"

She sighed slightly at the cockiness in his voice, but agreed.

The hallways were packed with excited looking students. Lily closely followed Severus' path that he made as he fought his way through the crowd. They finally reached the door where the scores were posted. Lily quickly checked foe her name among the first years. She found it easily near the top. She was second in her class. The only person that beat her was Jessica Jefferson, a Ravenclaw who she had only met once.

Jessica, Lily admitted to herself, was smart, beautiful, talented and graceful. She was perfect. She had short brown hair, tan skin, and almond shaped deep brown eyes. For some reason, Lily didn't like her much. She tried to convince herself that it was not because of jealousy.

Stopping thoughts of Jessica, Lily turned her thinking back to Snape.

"Severus," she asked, "How did you do?"

"I got first," he said as if it was nothing unusual.

Lily looked at him in shock, "What!?" she screamed, "You didn't even study!"

"Yep, I told you." he said in a cocky voice, "I am just naturally smart."

"Humph," she retorted, "not studying will catch up to you one day. Who got second?" she asked curiously, wondering how her Gryffindor friends had done.

"James," he said with a slight edge to his voice, "but I still beat him, and he studied!" He took on a very confident smile, then turned his attention to the first year list.

"Good job," he said to Lily, sounding strangely proud. "Don't worry about being second, you couldn't hope to beat Jessica. She's so smart, and so...perfect," he said with a dreamy note to his voice.

Lily tried not to throw up or hit him and said calmly, "Yes, I suppose so."

"Well," Severus said happily, "shall we go celebrate? All of Slytherin will be proud of us. Life will be a big party until its time to go home."

***

Lily stood on the train platform in front of the Hogwarts Express. She had decided to ride with Tara, to avoid an unnecessary argument between Severus and James. Besides that fact, Lily really liked hanging out with Tara, even though she was a little jealous of her, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Packing her luggage on the train and finding a seat, Lily let her mind wander to the past year. She couldn't believe it was already over. She'd miss her friends, but Severus and her Gryffindor friends had promised to write, and Tara, who didn't live far away, promised to visit. 

On the train ride, Lily and Tara talked and giggled about boys, did each other's hair in ways that they would never actually wear in public, and discussed summer plans. Lily sighed contentedly. Guy friends were wonderful, but sometimes she just needed to have some girl talk.

The ride was over too soon, and she stepped off onto the train platform. She hugged and said bye to Tara, then went off to find her parents, who would take her home for the summer.


	4. Quidditch Tryouts

  


(Same disclaimer as on other chapters)  
  
  
Ch. 4 The World Isn't Perfect

Lily Evans sat on the Hogwarts Express next to her best friend, Tara, and thought in silence about her summer. It had been fun, but it had been short. Lily spent most of her time with Tara because she was the only friend that was within easy visiting distance. Going to Tara's house had an added bonus because Tara didn't have any siblings, like Petunia, to bug them.

Lily shook her head, erasing memories of summer and focusing on the present. Smiling evilly, Lily turned to Tara and asked, "So, you've been avoiding this question_ all_summer, and I've let you, but now I have to know. Who do you like?"

Tara raised her chin a little to give her a look of superiority and said, "I have not been avoiding it, Lily, I simply just don't like anyone."

Lily rolled her eyes and said in an exasperated voice, "I know you like someone, Tara, you've been hinting at it all summer! Tell me or I'll...I'll...tell Peter you like him!"

Her eyes wide with fury, Tara glared at Lily. "You wouldn't dare!" she said in a cold voice.

"Oh I would Tara dear. I don't tolerate people who lie to me and..." she trailed off.

"Oh...Oh...but Lily...you just don't understand!" Tara said helplessly.

Lily's expression softened and she said, "I will if you just tell me, silly!"

Tara took in a shuddering breath and said, "But I know he doesn't like me..."

"I doubt that," Lily said looking at her beautiful friend. "Just tell me."

"Oh all right," Tara said, beaten. She moved in closer and whispered in her ear, "Sev..."

She only got that far before Lily bolted up right and said in a loud voice, "You can't be serious! You like..."

"LILY!" Tara said in warning. "Don't you dare! And its not too weird of a crush...after all...I mean...he is cute...you've got to admit..."

Lily felt kind of sick. Yes, he was cute, but so was James and Sirius, and even Remus for that matter. Why did she like _him_? He was the only one of her friends that she thought didn't like Tara, even as a friend. All he did was argue with her. At first she thought this was a sign that he liked her, until summer came. He didn't even mention Tara in his summer letters to Lily, and he didn't write any to Tara personally.

"Well...Tara..." Lily stopped at a loss for words, but was luckily saved by the train coming to a stop. "We're here!" she said enthusiastically and quickly started getting her things ready.

Tara followed her example, looking slightly embarrassed.

***

When they reached the Great Hall, Tara and Lily went off to their different house tables. Lily was one of the first people to the Slytherin table, so she sat down somewhere towards the middle and waited for the rest of her House to arrive.

A minute later, Severus and Lucius Malfoy entered and came over to Lily. She noticed they both looked somewhat older and taller. Lily hoped she looked older than last year, but doubted it.

"Hi guys," she said cheerily.

"Hey Lily," Severus said taking a seat next to her.

"Hi," Lucius said, taking a seat next to Severus. 

Lily rolled her eyes at Lucius' coldness. She suspected more than ever that he was only her friend because of Severus.

"May I have your attention please?" Came the voice of the Headmaster. The feast was beginning.

***

Lily was sitting in the Slytherin lounge after the banquet, thinking. The Slytherins had gotten many new members, which was good, she supposed. The food had been wonderful, as always. The only thing that was wrong with the feast was that she had only caught a glimpse of her Gryffindor friends.

"Lily," Severus said, interrupting her thoughts, "tomorrow's the Slytherin Quidditch team tryouts..." he trailed of as if she was supposed to reply.

"And..." she said lazily, stifling a yawn.

"And...I was wondering if you'd come and watch me tryout. You can bring friends if you want to...um except for James, since it probably won't be very interesting for you..." he said, trailing off again.

She laughed slightly, "Of course it will be interesting, I love Quidditch. And...yes I will go." She smiled up at him, "But I will bring Tara, just in case."

He grimaced a little, "Now I'm even more nervous for tryouts."

"Why?" she asked very curiously. "Why should she make a difference?"

"Because I told her I was the best Keeper ever...Now I have to try to live up to that!" he replied throwing himself into a chair next to hers.

"Well, its your own fault...you shouldn't have bragged..." He gave her a look that said "You aren't helping." She sighed and said, "I'm sure she doesn't expect you to be the best ever. But...you are very good Severus, according to everyone who's seen you play. You'll make it."

He smiled at this and said, "Lily, you're the best."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, since I can hardly keep my eyes open, I'm going to bed.. The alarm clock will know what time the tryouts are. See you then."

"'Night," he said in a preoccupied voice. He was staring off into space. _Probably imagining how fun it will be to win, _she thought. _He's hopeless_!

***

Lily woke with a start, finding her alarm clock on top of her screaming, "Get up you lazy bum!" With a small grunt, she got up and dressed and went downstairs to find Severus.

He was in the common room, pacing. Laughing, Lily walked over to him. "Nervous?" she asked smiling slightly.

"Uh, no...of course not," he replied in a shaky voice.

Lily had never seen Severus nervous before. He was usually so cocky and confident. She found the whole situation quite funny.

"Don't smirk like that, Lily!" Severus said sounding somewhat helpless.

"Alright! Alright!" she said stifling a laugh, "Lets go get breakfast."

In the Great Hall, Lily found Tara at the Ravenclaw table and told her about the tryouts. Tara smiled in a strange way and said, "Of course I'll go..."

"Go to what?" a slightly high and prim voice asked behind them.

Lily turned and saw Jessica Jefferson standing there looking perfect as usual. Tara looked very disgusted. She said quickly in a voice that matched Jessica's in primness, "Nothing that's your business, Jessica."

Lily looked at Tara with surprise. Lily didn't really like Jessica, but she couldn't imagine being that rude to her, after all she really hadn't _done_ anything. Tara looked back at her with a look that said, "She deserved it."

Jessica replied curty with, "If it doesn't involve me, it can't be very interesting...I mean...after all..."

"Are you done yet?" Severus asked coming over to them from the Slytherin table.

Jessica turned around looking outraged. Who would dare interrupt her? When she saw it was Severus, though, she changed her expression to one of pure sweetness. In a voice that was so sweet it was painful to listen to, she said, "Severus, I was just wondering where you were going. I am just such a curious person..."

Severus looked at Jessica, surprised. "Um...Jessica..." he stuttered.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"We're going to Slytherin Quidditch team tryouts," he said quickly.

Smiling looking satisfied, Jessica said, "Ooh...I wish I could go...but I can't...I already know you will make it, thought. You are so strong and smart..."

Tara cleared her throat loudly.

Severus quickly looked around. "Ooh..." he said in a nervous sounding voice, "common Lily and Tara...I don't want to be late..."

Lily and Tara followed as Severus lead the way out to the Quidditch field.

When they arrived, Severus ran off to grab his broom while the two girls found themselves seats in the stands.

***

The first round of tryouts for the Keeper consisted of the people trying out catching balls that were directly tossed to them. Tara especially was amused by this because most of the people got disqualified at this simple task.

There were now only ten people left, Severus being one of them, of course. The next task was catching balls that were fired from various places on the field. The five people with the most balls caught would advance.

This looked like a much more difficult task than the first to Lily. People and balls were flying around wildly, and she could hardly keep up. At the end, however, Severus not only qualified, but he had caught the most balls of anyone. Lucius Malfoy was second, but he hadn't done nearly as well as Snape.

The last task was surprising to Lily. There was a group of people gathering on the field that Lily recognized as some of the best Chasers in the school. Sirius was there, and Lily became even more surprised. She didn't think Slytherin would invite Gryffindor to help with their tryouts. She waved at him, but he didn't see her.

The chasers picked up Quaffles and got on their brooms. The five remaining contestants lined up, Lucius was at the front and Severus at the back. Lucius got on his broom and positioned himself in front of the goal posts. The Chasers then started throwing the Quaffles at the goals, one right after another, and Lucius darted back and forth on his broom, deflecting and catching as many as possible. He did very well, only letting about five get through.

The next three people didn't do quite as well. Lily kicked Tara in the shins as she started laughing hysterically at one who was spinning in a circle, confused. Lily didn't like her house being made fun of. _Severus better do good..._ she thought nervously.

Severus looked sick with worry even from where they were sitting. He looked over at Lily and Tara, and Lily smiled encouragingly, even though he couldn't see her well enough to tell she was smiling. 

Lily crossed her fingers as Severus sped up into the air. He positioned himself, and waited. The Quaffles started coming. Severus flew back and forth, deflecting and catching balls so fast that Lily was dizzy just watching him. Tara looked equally dizzy, and by the end of it, they both were breathing hard even though they had just been sitting there. 

"He only let one get through!" Tara said excitedly, "He won!"

"Yea, only one that was thrown by Sirius got through, and...and...he should get it! His broom...what is he riding? Its magnificent!" Lily almost shouted.

They both ran down excitedly to celebrate with Severus, but when they arrived, he was looking more nervous than ever.

"The coach said he couldn't decide...he said the new team members will be posted on the wall where we usually get our test scores," he said in a nervous and out of breath voice.

"Don't worry...he must not have decided about the Beater position. You won hands down!" Tara said smiling, "You really are one of the best Keepers I've ever seen."

Severus gave her a half smile as he walked towards Hogwarts to go rest and change.

***

The next day, Lily, Tara and Severus passed that wall every chance they got. The list didn't appear until after dinner, however. When Severus saw the piece of white from far away, he ran up to the wall and looked at it for a second. 

By the time Lily and Tara caught up with him, he was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed and head down, his fists and jaw clenched.

Lily, shocked, walked over to the paper and read:

Here are the new team members for this year's Quidditch team:

Beater: Samuel Smith

Runner up and substitute: Leona Robinson

Keeper: Lucius Malfoy

Runner up and substitute: Severus Snape

Lily's jaw dropped and she looked over at Tara who looked equally horrified. 

"Sev...Sev..." Lily said softly, "You should have won....you..."

Severus didn't move a muscle.

Tara decided to try, "The coach was just favoring Lucius. Severus..."

He still didn't move.

As if matters needed to get worse, Lily heard voices behind her. She spun and saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter coming straight towards them. Running up to them she said quickly, "Guys! Nice to see you. Lets go outside! Its such a beautiful day..."

"Thanks all the same Lily, but we want to see who made the Slytherin team," Sirius said, and slid past her to go look at the list. The others followed close behind.

"Ooh..." Sirius said slowly. Remus let out a low whistle.

"Well," James said loudly, "looks like I am better than you at Quidditch. I got into my position easily."

"Shut up," Severus said in the coldest voice Lily had ever heard. She let out a shiver and hoped that the four guys were smart enough not to say anything.

Three of the four looked at each other, shocked. They stood there in silence as the other, Peter, said in a stupid voice, "Haha...you're no good! You stupid greasy haired..."

Wham! 

Lily shook her head to clear it and saw Peter lying on the floor and Severus with his fist clenched standing in front of him looking shocked.

Remus looked at Snape looking very surprised. "You...you punched Peter!"

"I...I did..." Severus said sounding shocked.

"But..." Sirius said sounding horrified, "Peter's practically defenseless..."

"Oh don't sound so surprised!" Tara burst out. "Everyone in the school wants to punch Peter! He should have kept his mouth shut."

Out of the whole group, Lily now looked the most shocked. "Tara..." she started.

James shook his head. "Let's get out of here guys. I don't want to start a fight with Lily's best friend. We already have some great blackmail material anyway..." he said helping Peter up.

Severus groaned. "My life is ruined," he said in a hopeless voice. "Everything I ever wanted to do or to become is impossible! I didn't make the Quidditch team...I'll probably be expelled..."

"But...you deserved to have gotten on the team Severus..." Lily started.

He shook his head sadly. "No I didn't. Lucius is like a brother to me. He's my best friend in the world. He's the one who taught me to fly when I was five in the first place. I just...wish he would have tried out for Beater."

_So do I,_ Lily thought, sadly.

She sighed and dragged Severus back to the Slytherin common room.  
  


  
  



	5. The Disasters

(Same disclaimer as other chapters)

  
  


Ch. 5 The World Isn't Perfect

The next few weeks were some of the most unpleasant Lily had ever seen. Severus spent his time moping around and refusing to speak to anyone. The only times when he'd perk up was when Lucius was around. He pretended to be overly happy, then, which was almost worse.

Lily and Tara did everything they could think of to cheer him up. Nothing worked. Finally Lily got sick and tired of it and blew up at him.

"You can't stay depressed forever," she yelled, "You'll drive yourself and everyone around you crazy!"

"It sounds like you already are," Severus said with a half smile. 

Seeing the smile, Lily almost screamed for joy.

"See..." he said, "I'm getting over it, slowly. Pretty soon I'll forget about it and I'll be back to normal. Its just...hard..."

Lily sighed and sank into a chair. "Yes," she said sadly, "I know. How do you think I felt when the hat told me all of my flaws and put me in Slytherin?"

Severus looked around and said to Lily with a slight laugh, "Better keep your voice down. Unless of course you want to be more looked down on than you already are here..."

"How would you know if I'm looked down on here, Severus?" she said haughtily.

"Uh..." he said slowly, "because I'm the only person who hangs around with you. Sure people talk to you, but only after you talk to them first."

"Oh..." she said sounding helpless, "I know. I don't think it'll ever get better, though. No matter what I do, its never enough for the girls here. I wish Tara was in Slytherin...or even better, I was in Ravenclaw."

"But..." Severus said in a "that's ridiculous" tone, "then you wouldn't be in _my _house, and everyone knows I'm the coolest."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Ok, I think you're officially cured of your depression. I wish you would have kept some of the humility, though. But, you're right, I'm glad I'm not in Ravenclaw. Then I'd have to see Jessica a lot more."

"For me that'd be a plus..." he said with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Why don't you like her anyway?"

"Well, there's a few reasons. One, she's stuck up. Two, she's annoying. Three, she thinks she's Queen of the World. Four, she always looks perfect..."

"That's not a bad thing," he interrupted.

She sighed, "It is to me."

"Ah," Severus said with a wicked grin, "now I get it. You're jealous! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Lily...jealous..." he broke off laughing hysterically.

Lily clenched her teeth together. "I am not jealous Severus...and if you don't stop laughing I'll go tell Jessica you like her."

The laughing stopped.

"Well it would be true..." Lily started.

Severus looked at her for a minute, considering. Finally he said, "Oh, fine, yes...I like her...but every boy in the school likes her. Even James, and he...has well...interesting tastes. But, there's no need to be jealous of her, Lily, you're pretty too, not as pretty as Jessica of course, though."

Muttering under her breath, Lily sat there considering which person she should hurt first, Jessica, James or Severus. Just then, luckily for everyone concerned, Lucius came in, looking happy as ever.

"Today's the first team practice. I'm so excited. Sev, wanna come watch me play?" Lucius asked with a huge grin.

"Um..." Severus said in a voice that sounded like he was struggling with himself, "Yes...I will...I've got to get over this sometime..."

"Get over what?" Lucius asked, lost.

"Uh, never mind," Severus replied quickly. "Wanna come too, Lily?" he asked pleadingly.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh, "but I've got to do my homework. I've just spent most of my day talking to you, and...well...I've got to do it sometime."

Severus straightened up and, looking like he was going to battle, left with Lucius to go out to watch the practice.

***

After hours of homework, Lily decided to go find her Gryffindor friends and have some fun. She found them close the main doors, but they didn't look like they were having fun. All of them looked shocked except for Peter, who looked stupid as usual.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she came up to them.

"Accident, at the Quidditch field..." James said out of breath. "Lucius' broom was jinxed, it bucked him off...he's been rushed off to the hospital wing...but they don't know if he's...gonna make it."

"What?" Lily asked in horror, "Who jinxed the broom?"

"That's just the thing everyone's trying to find out," Sirius said.

"But...I think we all have an idea of who did it," James said. 

"Uh..." Lily said, clueless, "I don't..."

Remus looked at the other three boys and said, "Lily, that's cause you're too...nice and unsuspecting. I don't know how to break this to you, but our number one suspect is.."

Peter broke in suddenly, and yelled, "It was Snape!"

Lily looked shocked. "No, it wasn't," she replied frankly. "He would never do anything like this, especially to his best friend! You four just don't like him!"

"You saw what he did to Peter!" James said defensively. "Besides, who else would do this?"

"Well..." she replied slowly, "Lucius isn't without enemies...including you guys for that matter."

Sirius let out a low whistle. "That was uncalled for, Lily. We wouldn't do it...we're not like Snape..."

"It was not uncalled for!" Lily said, feeling like crying. "You four are just as stupid...or even stupider than he is!"

With that, she stormed off to the Slytherin common room to see if she could find Severus.

***

When she walked in, she found Severus pacing the length of the room looking very worried. Once he saw her, he started to talk, but didn't stop pacing.

"Have you heard?" he asked sounding sick.

"Yes..." she said slowly. "Do they think he's going to be alright? Do you know who jinxed his broom?"

He sighed and said, "Lily, I don't know any more than you do. They wouldn't let me into the hospital wing to see him."

"Well," she said sounding as upbeat as she could, "they have wonderful medical facilities here. He should be okay if the problem is fixable..."

"If..." he said and walked over to sit in a chair. "I don't understand. Who would want to do this to Lucius? I mean...he's pretty well liked. I don't think James would even stoop this low."

"Some people have their theories," Lily said very slowly, "but they're insane. I have no idea who did it. All I can do is narrow the list down, and that doesn't do a whole lot of good in a school this size."

"Yea..." he said. "Lily, want to come with me to the hospital wing? I won't be able to do anything else until I know if he's okay."

"Ok," she said cautiously. "Let's just hope we don't run into James in the halls."

Severus looked surprised at this, but didn't comment.

***

"He's going to be just fine," came the words, about three hours after the accident. Huge sighs of relief came from the group, along with cheers. "He won't be flying again for quite some time, though."

"Can I go see him?" Severus asked right away.

"Well, ok...but only a few people for a couple of minutes. We don't want to exhaust him."

Severus grabbed Lily by the arm and dragged her into the hospital room. There, in a hospital bed looking like he had been beat up,.was Lucius. He opened his eyes and said weakly, "Sev...I'm alive." With a slight laugh he said, "Never thought I'd fall off a broom, eh?"

Snape laughed weakly as he looked down at his friend. "Nope, I sure didn't. You're gonna be able to be Keeper for this season, though, aren't you?"

"No," Lucius said with a slight laugh. "And even if I could I wouldn't. I think I'm going to give flying a rest for a season. I'll try out next year. Besides, Keeper isn't really my position anyway. Should've tried out for Beater."

Lily rolled her eyes at the irony, but said encouragingly, "I hope you get better quickly, Lucius."

"Uh...thanks," he said quickly. _He definitely doesn't like me, _she thought for the fiftieth time.

"Ok that's enough you two, he needs his rest," the doctor said coming back in. 

Severus and Lily left, Severus grudgingly, Lily happily. 

***

The next few weeks entailed Severus going to practices practically nonstop, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter giving him dirty glares and mubling to themselves, and Lily standing in the middle trying to avoid a confrontation. She wasn't very successful.

One night, Lily decided to talk to her friends about the rumor starting. It would eventually get back to Severus which would probably lead to a fight. They took her criticism very well, considering that they were boys, and agreed to stop spreading the rumors, but to nothing else, and insisted that they still believed Severus was the guilty party.

So, they went out and did something worse. They confronted Severus. Lily tried to stop them, and even tried to curse them to stay away, but nothing worked. They were waiting by the door with Lily standing in front of them when Severus came back from a particularly long practice.

"Uh, hi Lily," he said slightly surprised. He was covered in dirt and sweat and looked exhausted. 

Lily tried to grab him and rush off, but she was too late.

"We all know you're the one responsible for your "friend's" accident. Why don't you just admit it?" James stepped in front of Lily as he spoke.

"Wh-What?" Severus said groggily. "Of course I'm not responsible. What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with us, Severus," Remus said, also stepping around Lily. "We know it was you."

"I would never do something like that. Lucius is like my brother! You guys are just stupid." He replied in an angry yet tired voice.

_He's too tired to get in a fight. That's a plus,_ Lily thought.

"Well just watch your step," James said. "We might just get some evidence on you and...you'll get expelled."

Severus just shook his head. "The headmaster's too smart to fall for any phony evidence you come up with." And with that he pushed his way past them to go back to the Slytherin quarters.

"See? He's obviously not guilty," Lily said in a "I told you so" tone.

"I think his conscious is bothering him..." Sirius said half to himself, "or else he would've been more reactive."

"He's just been at a very long Quidditch practice...oh why do I expect boys to see sense. I'll see you guys tomorrow." 

Lily followed Severus back to the Slytherin common room, but when she arrived he had already gone to his dormitory.

***

The first Quidditch game of the year was between Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Everyone was excited, except for Severus. He was so worried, Lily feared he was going to be too sick to play. 

Lily and Tara arrived early to get good seats. When they announced the players, Severus looked fine. Lily sighed in relief, and heard a similar sigh come from Tara. 

The first goal was scored by Slytherin, and the whole stadium erupted with cheers and boos. Tara had agreed to cheer for Slytherin on every game except when they were playing against Ravenclaw, so she cheered along with Lily.

Everything was going perfect until Lily heard a high, snobbish voice behind her. "He's the best Keeper ever, you know," she heard Jessica say.

Lily turned around and was shocked to see that Jessica was talking to her. "Yea, he is good," she replied.

"The best. And he wouldn't have even had his chance if it hadn't been for me," she said in a cocky voice. 

Tara rolled her eyes and said in a sarcastic voice, "Why what'd you do, bribe the coach?"

"I tried, but unfortunately he said he didn't accept bribes. So, after Lucius got it, I took matters into my own hands."

"YOU jinxed his broom?" Lily asked, unbelievingly.

"I refuse to affirm or deny it," she said in a tone that meant, "yes I did."

"But...why?" Tara asked, confused, "What are you gaining by this?"

"I didn't mean to hurt him that badly..." she said uncertainly, then went on with confidence, "but, well, my future boyfriend _has_ to be on the Quidditch team."

"Your future boyfriend!?" Tara asked angrily. "Says who?"

"Says me," Jessica replied as if explaining to a child, "You see, my mom told me I can have any man I want, and I know she's right. I'm choosing Severus. He is one of the most popular boys of his grade, basically everyone likes him, but he is selective in choosing close friends. I almost chose James, but I think that friend Peter of his would bring my image down."

"Bring your image down?" Lily said outraged. "You can not have any man you want! I'm going to tell Severus how horrible you are before you can get to him!"

Tara nodded looking shocked at what Jessica had said.

"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lily. Not unless you want your reputation at school ruined... I could start a rumor about you being the one who jinxed Lucius' broom, that you were the one who made Johnny Robinson break his leg and that you are a dark wizard!"

"WHAT? You're evil! I'm going to get you, Jessica, how dare you..." Lily said standing up.

"SEVERUS SNAPE MAKES A BRILLIANT SAVE TO KEEP THE SCORE 150-0 SLYTHERIN, AND SLYTHERIN GETS THE SNITCH! SLTYERHIN WINS 300-0!"

Lily turned for a minute to see Severus smiling, holding the Quaffle while the Seeker held up his fist with the Snitch in it. When she turned back, Jessica was gone.

Grumbling, Lily turned to Tara. "I think she's going to cause trouble..."

"Yes," said Tara, "but how do we stop her? She's perfect..."

"Not that perfect," Lily grumbled.

  
  


Authors note: sorry if you guys found this chapter too depressing...lol I'll try to make the next one happier.


	6. More Jessica and Quidditch Problems

(Same disclaimer as other chapters)

Author's note: I wrote this chapter pretty quickly (don't have much time to write now) so this chapter might be really stupid lol. Please tell me if it is so I can change it! Thanks!

The World isn't Perfect--Ch. 6

"Why Severus, isn't this a pleasant surprise?!" came the high voice that became increasingly annoying every time Lily heard it.

"Jess...Jessica," Severus stammered in his usual way when he talked to Jessica.

Tara rolled her eyes in disgust. Jessica had been "accidentally" running into Severus while he was with Tara and Lily at least twice a day. Each time she sounded more surprised to see them than the last.

"Yes, Sevy," Jessica continued with a pout, "It is too bad we can't meet more often..."

Lily tuned out the rest of the conversation. What kind of stupid nickname was "Sevy" anyway?

When Jessica finally left, Severus turned to Lily and Tara looking dazed.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he said in a dreamy voice.

Lily rolled her eyes and said, exasperated, "If we don't hurry, I'll miss the train home!"

She was the only one of her friends that was going home for Christmas, which she was very put out about. So much would happen while she was gone.

They finally reached the train and Severus helped her with her bags. Lily gave them both a hug and got on the train.

She had already said her goodbyes to her Gryffindor friends and they hadn't argued when she said she didn't want them to come see her off. She felt slightly offended at this, but they told her it was because they were working on some secret project that they wouldn't tell her about and that Lily didn't really _want_ to know about.

The train moved forward and she waved out the window at her friends. At least they had all promised to write so she wouldn't be too lonely.

***

It had only been a few days when she received her first owl from Tara. It sounded urgent.

Lil-

Disaster has struck! Jessica must be moving into phase two of her plan or something because she is hanging around with Severus constantly. I don't know what to do. She's always there practically hanging on his arm.

Also, another strange thing is happening. James and co. spend most of their time locked away working on some "project" and I heard Peter mention making signs. I wish you were here to help me Lil-write back soon!

Tara

The next came a few days later.

Lil-

Thanks for writing back even though you couldn't really help me. Jessica now is kissing both of Sev's cheeks like the french do in greeting. She's really getting on my nerves. Especially since James looks jealous every time Jessica talks to Severus. 

By the way, his project is some kind of campagn against something I think...WB!

Tara

P.S. What d'you want for Christmas?

These were the only letters Lily got before Christmas, and they sent her into a bit of a panic. She also became mad at Severus and the Gryffindors for not sending her any owls, especially when she knew the stupid reasons why. The Gryfs were too busy with their stupid project and Severus was too busy with stupid stupid stupid Jessica.

Her anger subsided a little, however, when she got her presents on Christmas morning. 

The present from Tara was a set of magical hair clips that put your hair up in ways that would never work with an ordinary hair clip. The Gryffindors sent her a box of goodies, again. _How orignial,_ she thought. This time, however, there was something else included in the box. It was a note that said, "Good for information on one of our secret plans." She rolled her eyes at how much good one of those would do. They always had some kind of secret plan going.

Her last present was from Severus. She opened it up and was surprised to find a star locket inside. It had an attatched note:

Lily,

I had no idea on what to get you and Tara for Christmas, but luckily, Jessica helped me. She started always giving me hints on what "girls like for Christmas," and this was one of them. Tara has a matching necklace, and if you open it up, you can magically send messages to each other. Cool huh? I got some pins that work like that for Lucius and me. It was hard to think of what to get Jessica, though, since she always gave hints on what girls like, not her specifically. I just ended up getting her a couple chocolate frogs.

Well anyway, c-ya!

Severus

Lily almost died laughing after reading his letter. Jessica would be so mad and jealous! For once she was glad that guys were usually completely clueless.

***

After about a day of being back in school, Lily saw that things were even worse than she had imagined. They heard Jessica whine, "Sevy" about twenty times a day. It got to the point where Lily wanted to shoot her. But, she didn't dare do anything because Lily believed Jessica's threat, and who would believe her over Jessica?

Lily started spending more and more time in the Slytherin common room, and encouraged Severus to do the same. Sometimes, Tara even snuck Lily into the Ravenclaw common room even though Lily was sure they were breaking about a million rules. It helped them get away from her because Jessica was almost never in her own common room anymore. She spent her time roaming the halls looking for Severus. 

Time passed slowly, but it did pass. Soon it was time for the last Quidditch game of the season. It would determine who would win the Quidditch cup. It was between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was now that Lily finally saw what James and co.'s plan was all about.

***

"Stop the cheating, disqualify Severus Snape..." Tara read from a sign on the wall, sounding confused, "He's willing to hurt his own best friend to get on the team, and once he was on the real deception began. Sign this petition to get evil Snape off the team."

Lily just stared at the sign after Tara had read it. "So this is what they've been working on..." she muttered.

"What?" Tara asked. "Yes...you're right! It must have been them! I thought they had given up on that stupid accusation..."

"Its not stupid..." they were interrupted by Peter who had just walked up behind them. "Snape is evil! Death to cheaters and betrayers! Death to Slytherin! DIE DIE..."

"That's enough, Peter," James said, following him. 'I think she gets the point."

Rolling her eyes, Lily turned around to face James. "James Potter, you refuse to see sense. You pretend to be my friend, then turn around and do something to make my life miserable. If you do not take down this sign and others like it, I will...never speak to you again." She lifted her chin in a haughty manner and waited for a reply.

"Lily..." James said, pleadingly, "don't be like that. Its what we think is right. You must see that. We've been working on this plan for a long time and...well we can't just stop it now. Besides...Snape _is_ evil. He's corrupted Jessica, and now he might try to turn you...we've got to stop this Lil..."

"HA!" she said outraged. "Now I know you're a fool. If anything, Jessica's corrupting _him_. James...you can't do this! This isn't right...it wasn't him! It was...it was..."

"Hello, Lily and Tara...and of course...boys..." Jessica said coming up to them.

"Goodbye, Jessica," Lily replied in a cold, tense voice.

"Well...I've never been so insulted in my life!" Jessica said sounding hurt,

Tara smiled slightly and said, "Get used to it."

Jessica's eyes widened threateningly, but she looked at James and changed her mind. Instead she just turned around slowly and glided off.

"Wow, that was a little uncalled for," James said sounding shocked.

"It was not...fine...I'll tell you James because I can't let this go any further. Jessica jinxed the broom. She told me herself. It was all her! She's evil! She's..."

James looked shocked. "Lily, Severus must be more of a monster than we guessed! He's put a memory spell on you! He's pinned it all on Jessica...why...that lil..."

"Its not a memory spell! I know what happened! Tara heard her too!"

He patted her shoulder looking sympathetic. "Its all right Lily, this is not your fault, its Severus'..."

Lily screamed with rage and stopped only briefly to rip the sign off the wall before stalking off to the Slytherin common room.

***

For the few days left before the game, Severus was not fit to live with. Lily had tried to rip off all the signs, but new ones just kept appearing. 

"James is a pig who deserves to die!" he said about fifty times a day.

"Its what he believes happened, Severus..." she said slowly.

That never helped. 

Once he got so mad, he stormed out of the room with Lucius on his heels, and the whole thing resulted in detention for both of them and the four Gryffindors. Lily didn't ask what happened.

***

When the Quidditch game finally arrived, Lily didn't know who to cheer for since she was pretty mad at people on both teams. She finally decided to go for her own house, however, and Tara joined her.

The game started as most Slytherin games did. Slytherin scored first, and Severus wasn't letting any Quaffles get through.

Lily watched the game only half heartedly. Her life was such a wreck. The only friend she felt she could count on now was Tara. She looked down at her feet for a while, and when she looked up again, the score was 150-0 Slytherin.

Lily's eyes went wide, though, because all three of the Gryffindor chasers had been allowed to get through and were each standing opposite a goal post passing the Quaffle back and forth as Severus whizzed back and forth as fast as he could. It wasn't fast enough, however, because Sirius got the Quaffle through.

Just then, Lily saw James on his broom grabbing at the golden snitch and then holding it up in the air in triumph. The Gryffindors had won.

"Despite Severus Snape's efforts, Slytherin wasn't good enough to defeat the wonderful team of Gryffindor. James Potter surely must be the best Quidditch player of all time..." the announcer said.

"I guess right always triumphs in the end," Peter said from behind her. He had a black eye and a swollen lip, but Lily thought that wasn't enough pain to make up for that comment.

***

Lily and Tara spent the next few weeks trying to convince Severus that it wasn't his fault that they had lost, and trying to keep the two groups away from each other. They were luckily pretty successful at the second one. What they weren't very successful at, though, was finding time to study for their tests.

Last day cramming was all the two girls found time to do. When Lily walked into her first test, Potions, she was terrified. She still managed to survive them, though, since she had worked hard the whole year except for the end.

She was still very surprised, however, when she found her name at the top of the scores list. Jessica apparently hadn't had time to study, or bribe her teachers as the case may be, and she finished at number 25. Tara was 11th and very proud of herself.

Severus was number one, again, which surprised everyone but himself. He hadn't even opened a book after losing the Quidditch game and had spent his time glowering at everyone. Lily had been sure he wouldn't do well, and of course she was wrong.

This helped cheer him up a lot, since he had beat James, and soon he was back to his usual self. Lily sighed. And guys said _girls_ were moody.

***

The end of year feast was not anywhere as fun as usual if you were a Slytherin. Gryffindor won both cups. Lily was relatively happy though. She had a whole Jessica-free summer to look forward to. _Maybe she'll get sick and die over the summer..._ Lily thought hopefully.

"Lily, what are you daydreaming about?" Severus asked a little impatiently. "Weren't you listening to our strategic plans on how to beat Gryffindor next year in both cups?"

"Uh...sorry Severus," she said.

"Its ok, you wouldn't understand it anyway. Girls can't play Quidditch," Lucius said from the other side of Severus.

"Yes they can!" she said hotly.

"Well..." he replied in a confident manner, "we don't have _any_ girls on _our_ team."

"I'd try out next year just to prove you wrong..." she said slowly, "but I can't because the only position open is Beater. I'll try out as soon as there's an opening for Seeker. I think I'd do best at that."

Lucius burst out laughing and looked at Severus waiting for him to laugh with him.

"Uh..." Severus said slowly, 'I wouldn't laugh if I were you, Luc, Lily usually can do anything she puts her mind to."

Lucius looked shocked. Lily shot a triumphant look at Lucius and started up a conversation with Severus about when the Seeker position would be open. They discovered it wouldn't be open for quite some time, which Lily was grateful for. This would give her some time to practice and buy a broom.

***

Lily and Tara sat on the Hogwarts Express discussing the last year and all the things that had happened. Lily came up with one conclusion.

"Its been awful!" she said in agony. 

"Yea..." Tara said sadly, "Next year will be better, though, Lily. At least we won't have to worry about Quidditch tryouts." She sighed slightly, "I never thought Severus would be happy again after he didn't make the team."

"Well...he seemed happy enough today. Jessica promised to sit next to him on the train and visit him during the summer. We need to find a way to put a stop to this," Lily said thinking.

Tara sighed again and said with determination, "We can worry about that later. I'm not going to think about Jessica all summer. Maybe the problem of Jessica will be over by the time school starts again."

Lily nodded even though she didn't think that was very likely.


	7. The Decision

  


Same disclaimer as other chapters

author's note-sorry this took so long people :)-really I am...I've been so busy lately-I also hope the story plot line/style hasn't changed over time/because I saw the Harry Potter movie lol. If you find that it has-please tell me. Thanks :) and please review.

Ch. 7: The World isn't perfect

Lily Evans and Tara Richards sat on the Hogwarts Express talking about their summer.

Summer had been extremely boring for Lily, so she was actually glad that school was starting. She ha spent most of her time wondering what Jessica was up to. A few letters from Severus mentioning that Jessica was going to stay at his family's mansion for a few weeks did not help her state of mind.

"I haven't seen either of them yet," Lily proclaimed sounding very worried.

Tara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Jessica probably convinced him to skip school altogether and elope with her," she stated sarcastically.

"That wasn't funny," Lily replied angrily, "I'm worried."

"So am I," said Tara in a matter of fact way, "but there's nothing we can do about it now."

Lily sat up straighter and said determinedly, "Yes we can! We can start getting ready and planning what we're going to say to Jessica!"

"That would be pointless," Tara pointed out, "since Jessica will control the conversation anyway."

Lily ignored this comment and said, "My plan is, to talk to Severus alone before we meet up with Jessica, if its at all possible. He's been my friend for quite a while now and he should..."

Just then the door to their compartment opened and in stepped James and Sirius looking very pleased with themselves. Lily was a little surprised to see that Sirius had grown and was only a little shorter than James now.

"Lily! We found you!" They both exclaimed simultaneously.

They all laughed and talked for the rest of the train ride. Lily tried to put worry about Severus out of her mind, but she couldn't. She had to make him see sense. She had to make Jessica pay...she had...

***

The first glimpse Lily caught of Severus was on the train platform after arrival. At first she didn't recognize him, and only realized who she was looking at when he called out to her. 

"Lily," he called, "come over here!"

She blinked, then blinked again. This couldn't be Severus. This wasn't Severus. Severus Snape was not that tall, he did not wear the trendiest robes, and he certainly did not have a pony tail.

It was not a long pony tail, she admitted to herself. It looked to her exactly like the one Wesley has on her favorite movie, "The Princess Bride." The pony tail even gave him a slight "Wesleyish" look, but that didn't matter. Severus wasn't Wesley, so he needed to cut his hair. 

Severus got tired of waiting, apparently, for she had just finished this thought when she found herself face to face with him. 

"Lily! Its so good to see you! I've missed you so much...well I guess I should have written more, but I've been so busy with Jessica..." He paused and looked at her sideways. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Cut your hair," she said curtly, and then looked very surprised she had spoken aloud.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows at her slightly and then changed his tone. "You don't like it? I've gotta say I'm surprised, because everyone else has. What's wrong with it? Doesn't it make me look cool?...Jessica suggested it after all...and as you know Jessica's..."

"Perfect," Lily finished wryly for him. "Really Severus, do you do everything Jessica asks you to do?"

"I wasn't going to say perfect..." Severus said, blushing slightly. "I was going to say stylish. I learned these past few months that she isn't perfect...she can be incredibly stubborn, and even...a little annoying. Personally, I don't really like the pony tail, but since everyone else does, I decided to keep it. Do you really think it looks that bad?"

Lily smiled slightly, "No, it doesn't...but its just not...you."

Just then Jessica walked up to them whining, "Sevy...you're keeping me waiting. Stop spending time talking to someone like her..."

"Someone like me?" Lily asked heat rising in her voice, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jessica gave her an annoyed look and muttered, "Severus understands."

Severus calmly turned towards her. "Actually, I don't Jessica, would you like to explain it to me?"

Jessica's eyes popped open and she stammered, "Uh..."

"Didn't think so," he turned back to face Lily.

Jessica snapped. "Sevy! How dare you ignore me! Stop talking to the mudblood!"

"What did you just say?" Severus said in a tense voice. "Because if you just insulted Lily, I'd take it back, because Lily is my friend. No one insults her."

Lily rolled her eyes slightly. Severus was just too full of himself.

"I'm not taking it back! Its true!" She said taking a step back, "And if that's the way you're going to be, you're going to have to make a choice. Me or Lily." With that she turned and stalked off to the coaches.

"Jes!" he pleaded after her. "Don't be that way..."

She kept walking and he didn't follow her.

***

"What am I going to do?" Severus groaned about a half an hour later. Lily, Severus, and all of his friends were seated at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall waiting for the banquet to begin.

"Why are you asking me?" Lily sighed. "Ask Lucius, he's a little more unbiased."

He turned slightly to face Lucius and waited expectantly.

"Uh...um..." the surprised Lucius said uncomfortably. "You should...er...Well..." He coughed. "What I'm trying to say is...no...well... Jessica's pretty..."

"All that waiting for this brilliant conclusion!?" Lily said mockingly.

Lucius glared at her. "But, as you just saw, Lily can be very mean," he said, irritated. "So, she can make your life miserable if you make enemies with her. In one week I guarantee she'll have James and his gang on a mission to destroy your life."

"Hmm..." Severus mumbled. "Pretty, destroy my life, pretty, life, pretty, life...I think I'll take Lily." 

Lily's eyes flashed with anger, and Severus quickly added, "Because I like her better...er...Lily's a better friend..." He rushed on, "Jessica's just been trying to control my life or use me for my money or something."

"That's better," Lily said happily. "Now when are you going to tell Jessica?"

Severus moaned. "I dunno...do you think you could Luc? Or maybe even you Lil..." 

"No," they both said at once.

"Well at least you two agree on something," he said with a weak laugh.

Just then the banquet started, and Lily sank back into her seat. She had been so worried about Jessica for nothing. 

***

"Maybe she'll decided we can all be friends after all," Severus desperately said after the banquet when they were back in the Slytherin common room..

Lily sighed and Lucius grunted.

"That's the 100th time you've said that, but o matter how many times its repeated it won't be true!" Lily exclaimed.

Severus stood up and started pacing. "I just can't tell her! You don't know what she's like! She's practically got our wedding planned...and she's rather...forceful.."

Lucius nodded in understanding.

"You bunch of wimps!" Lily yelled, exasperated. "If you can't stand up to a little 100 lb. Girl...no matter how loud she can yell, you're worse than...than..Gilderoy Lockhart!" Gilderoy Lockhart was the wimp of the school. He was a 2nd year and constantly was getting beaten up.

"But, you don't understand Lily! She's...so..." Severus stammered.

"No she's not," Lily interrupted, "and until you can prove you're man enough to be my friend, I'm going to spend all of my time with James!" With that she stalked up to her dormitory.

After a minute of staring at her closed door she heard a loud, "bang" against it. She hurriedly opened the door and found a broken apart book sprawled on the floor. Turning it over, she burst out laughing to see it was the textbook for potions. She looked down nto the common room, but Severus was nowhere in sight.

***

The next day, Lily was as good as her word. She ignored Severus completely, and every free moment she spent her time with James.

James was happy to be receiving all the attention, and obliged her by talking practically non-stop. Through it all, Lily had a plastered smile on her face. She kept looking around for a glimpse of Severus.

He finally noticed. "Uh...Lil..." James said slightly uncomfortably. "Don't get me wrong, but is there some hidden reason you're talking to me so much?"

"Oh James!" Lily burst out sounding agonized, "its Severus! You see, Jessica told him he could only be friends with one of us and, well...he told me he picked me, but that might be because he's too scared or sad to tell me the truth! Last night he was saying he couldn't tell Jessica-and I yelled at him and made it worse! I could lose him as a friend-he's...my only friend in Slytherin."

James took a step back in surprise and then gave Lily a small hug. "It'll be ok, Lil-I mean, you don't need that greasy haired, pony tailed, idiot anyways..."

"You're not helping!" she moaned.

"Uh...I mean...even Snape is smart enough to see you're 100 times prettier, nicer, and all around a better friend than she is.

"Oh, I hope so!" Lily exclaimed worriedly. "I mean...I mean...Oh I can't take this anymore!" With that, she got up ad ran off in search of Severus.

She found Jessica first and was surprised to see her crying.

"Jessica?" she asked more curious than concerned, "What's wrong?"

"I...I hate...men!" she stammered between sobs. "They're two faced-pigs!" She broke off going into what Lily could only describe as hysterical crying.

"What happened?" Lily questioned, becoming more intrigued by the second.

Jessica took a deep breath. "Severus dumped me. He said I was a rat and that I only used him for his money. But-well-so what if its true! My parents are horribly poor! This year I had to sell Sev's gifts to me to pay for my school things." 

Suddenly realizing what she was saying, she took a step back. "Why am I telling you? Fine...go ahead and laugh at me. I have nothing left to live for anyways." She broke off in another fit of sobs.

Lily's eyes widened in complete surprise. Was this really Jessica? "Uh, no I won't laugh at you, Jessica, but you ought to learn a lesson from this. You can't use people like that! Maybe you should go talk to your friends now, though, and they'll make you feel better...you can have a guy bashing party." Lily was very proud of herself for being so nice to Jessica after being her nemesis for quite some time.

Looking lost Jessica whispered, "I don't have any friends."

Lily stood aghast for a few seconds. When she recovered, Jessica was already running off in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room.   
  
***  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. The mystery of LupinMr and Mrs Snape

Ch. 8 The World Isn't Perfect

Same disclaimer as other chapters

Author's note: Sorry for some of you this took long--lol I think this is a relatively long chapter so…well…sorry ;)

OH and to all those doubting people out there--IT ALL WORKS OUT! Trust me…I have a way for my plot to not be all messed up and have since almost the beginning J 

"Sevy, what should we do?" Lily cried out to Severus after telling him about her meeting with Jessica.

"Don't call me Sevy," he said, irritated, then he responded to her question. "We?" he asked, leaning back in his chair sounding his usual cocky self. While he was going with Jessica, h e had become a little less self-assured, but his confidence apparently had come rushing back as a result of their breakup. 

"Yes, we," Lily replied sounding slightly put out, "You, me, Tara, and anyone else who has any ideas…"

Severus grunted slightly. "Why me?" he asked, "I thought I'd be done with her once and for all--I thought breaking up with her was the right thing to do. I thought you didn't care about Jessica! You're confusing, Lily--and I'm not sure I can help you."

"Of course you can. You can help me find some friends for her," Lily replied in a matter of fact tone.

Severus laughed. "Lily, I think Jessica was just a bit hysterical and didn't know what she was saying. She _has_ to have friends…I mean, you've said so yourself, she's the most popular girl in school from your grade--everyone knows that."

"Yes and 'everyone knows' that Jessica is rich, kind hearted, perfect, and obliging," Lily stated blandly. "I don't think anyone really knows anything about Jessica--not even us, although we know more than most people."

"Maybe," Severus said, "but it also could be that Jessica is playing for sympathy."

Lily smiled, "Would she tell her arch rival that she was friendless and poor just to get sympathy? Would she even want _my_ sympathy?"

"True…but Lily I really don't want to have anything to do with this. Besides--who on earth could we get to be her friends?"

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "we could always get James…"

"I refuse to have anything to do with that…_Gryffindor_," he said the last word as if it were the worst kind of insult.

"Fine then…Sirius…" she broke off at his glare. "Well at least Remus then! You two aren't as bad of enemies as the others and you are."

"Ok…fine…Its only a friend for Jessica after all…so how do you suggest we persuade him to do what we ask?" he asked curiously.

"Ask nicely, of course," she replied in a "what else would we do" tone.

Severus gave her a doubtful look, but she stood up and walked towards the exit anyway, looking confident. He followed slowly, looking glum.

They first went to find Tara. Lily told her the whole story, and Tara grudgingly agreed to help. The three of them then went to find Lupin.

That was no easy task. They searched for at least an hour and found no trace of him or his friends. Finally, the found Peter looking over a book on werewolves in the library.

"Peter!" all three of them almost screamed when they saw him.

Peter looked very scared, and stammered, "Uh…hi guys…Lily…Tara…Sss…Sev…Severus?" he said the last name in complete surprise and turned as white as a sheet.

"Yes, Peter," Tara said smiling to try to make him feel at ease. "We're looking for Remus…do you know where he might be?"

"Well actually yes, but I don't think I can tell you," he said with a sly smile.

Tara's eyes flashed with annoyance, Lily groaned, and Severus turned away in complete disgust.

Noticing he was in danger of making two new enemies and getting beaten up by Severus, Peter spoke up again. "I could, perhaps…give you a clue.'

The three friends just looked at him.

"Erm…it's a full moon tonight…so he won't be in the school…"

Severus laughed. "Do you mean the idiot's off kissing some girl under the full moon every night? But why isn't he inside now?"

"That's not what I meant," Peter squeaked.

"Then what did you mean?!" Severus roared.

Just then, James walked in.

"What are you up to slime ball?" he asked Severus.

Lily and Tara spun around.

"There's no slime ball here," Lily said haughtily. "If you were referring to Severus, he's helping us."

"Oh…Lily…I didn't see you there," James stammered.

"Obviously not, " she replied.

Tara decided to break in before there was a fight. "James, do you know where Lupin might be today? We've been looking all over for him. All we can get out of Peter is something about a full moon."

James' eyes got big and he threw a warning look at Peter.

Surprised at this, Lily became very curious. "Tell me James…I have to know."

"Erm…its no secret, he had to go visit a sick relative. He has to go about once a month…usually during the full moon by coincidence. That's what Peter meant."

"I don't believe you," Severus announced. "Peter wouldn't have been so secretive about it if it was something that simple."

James scowled. "Well, I don't care what YOU think Snape. I've got better things to do." With that he stormed out of the library.

***

"He's a werewolf," Tara stated blandly once they were inside the Slytherin common room. Technically, Tara wasn't allowed inside, but Lily didn't' pay much attention to that rule. She used the excuse of having almost no friends in Slytherin.

"What?!" Lily and Severus yelled as one.

Tara sighed, "Its obvious. Full moon….Peter was reading a book on werewolves…"

"That's impossible," Severus scoffed, "they'd never let a werewolf come to Hogwarts."

"Besides, Remus would never be able to hide the fact that he's a werewolf from me, I've been his friend for years," Lily jumped in.

Tara looked slightly downcast. "Everyone always shoots down my ideas--my family, my Ravenclaw friends and now you guys! I mean--I thought that was a pretty brilliant deduction."

"Sorry, Tara," Severus said slowly cautiously putting his arm around her trying to look casual and giving her a little squeeze. "But this idea IS ridiculous. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but it just is."

Tara sighed. "Well what are we going to do about Jessica anyway?"

Severus smiled, "I suggest we are totally unoriginal. Tara--get some people from Ravenclaw to be her friends--or if you want, be her friend yourself."

"I'll try…" Tara said unhappily.

_Why does he still have his arm around her?_ Lily wondered.

"On a totally different topic," Lily broke in to try to take Severus' attention away from Tara, "Where are you two going for Christmas?"

Sure enough, Severus removed his arm. Lily smiled.

"Well, I'm going home, as usual," Severus replied.

Tara sighed, "I don't know where I'm going. My parents are going to France and won't be back in time for me to start school, so I can't go with them."

"Me neither," Lily said, "Petunia's been so rotten to me lately my parents gave me permission to go somewhere else, but I don't know where I'd go."

Severus took that as a hint. "Would you two like to come stay at my house for Christmas?"

"Wow," Lily replied in shock. "Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"Perfectly sure. It'd make Christmas so much more fun to have you two around."

"Around when, who? Huh?" Lucius asked as he walked into the common room. 

Severus grinned. "I just asked them to come to my house for Christmas--do you want to come too?"

"Sure!" he replied.

Lily groaned inside. _Christmas with Lucius? This sure would be interesting._

***

Christmas break came surprisingly quickly, and before she knew it, Lily was on a train headed for the city that was nearest Severus' mansion.

"So, how are things going with Jessica?" Severus asked.

"Ok," Tar replied, "not quite as well as I'd like, but…she has one friend other than me, now."

"Great!" Severus said, "Who is it?"

"Me," Lily said glumly, "Tara was having absolutely no luck, so she begged me to help."

Lucius burst out laughing. "So in other words, you've gotten nowhere."

Lily glared at him. "You don't have to put it like that," she complained.

"Stop arguing you two!" Severus said. "We're almost there. You two girls excited to see my house?"

"Actually," Lily admitted, "I'm a little scared to meet your parents--I mean after all, I am muggle born.

Severus sighed, "Don't worry about it; they'll love you."

When the train pulled up to the station, finally for some, too soon for others, Lily's mind was racing with horrible scenarios that could happen meeting Severus' parents. She tried to tell herself it was all just meaningless worry, but she kept thinking of the way the other Slytherins, and even Severus at first, had treated her . 

Almost immediately after stepping off the train, they were approached by a tall man with grey hair and a mustache who was dressed almost completely in black.

Lily suddenly got even more nervous than before. "Is that your father, Sev?" she questioned nervously.

Severus laughed, "No of course not, he's our butler--our only muggle servant. He's useful when we need someone to interact well with muggles."

"Your car is ready sir," the butler droned.

"Thank you," Severus said and led them off to the parking lot.

Severus' car was a black Mercedes that looked brand new and spotless. Lily was amazed.

"I see father didn't trust us with the limo," Severus said laughing. "Well…I guess I don't blame him since Luc and I crashed his rolls…"

"You crashed it!" Lucius broke in, "but I got blamed for it!"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Yea, yea, whatever."

The car ride was about ½ an hour long through the winding country roads of England. Lily daydreamed while looking out of the window. Pretty soon she saw it. The biggest and most grand manor house she had ever seen in her life. She gasped and heard Tara echo her. Severus laughed.

"There it is," he said, "do you like it?"

Lily and Tara just sat there gaping as the car drove up to this magnificent house. There was a man and woman waiting by the front door. The man was tall and rather handsome. He looked almost exactly like Severus. His mother was blond and beautiful. She looked absolutely perfect. Lily started thinking of ways to get out of meeting Severus' parents. They wouldn't like her.

"Severus!" his mother exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you…and Lucius of course. This must be Tara," she said beaming at Lily's nervous looking friend. "And you…."she paused, "I suppose are Lily Evans…the one who caused such controversy at Hogwarts over the House she was placed in."

"Um, yes…" Lily stammered.

"She's one of the smartest girls in school, mum," Severus broke in, "she's bringing a lot of glory to Slytherin."

"But not as much as you, I'm sure son," his father stated in a deep, commanding voice.

Severus gave him an uneasy look and led the way inside.

The house was even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside. The butler got busy putting away everyone's things and showing them to their rooms. Lily's room was gorgeous. It was by far the nicest room she had ever stayed in.

They were all called together for dinner in the spacious dinning room. The conversation was polite, even if Lily felt a little ignored. The only time his parents responded to anything she said was when she said that she had absolutely no connection in her family to witches or wizards. Then their eyes widened and his father started coughing. 

When it was time for bed, Lily went upstairs to her room and unpacked a bit. She was not tired and was still feeling nervous. She decided to go downstairs and ask the butler for a drink of water or something. She needed something to calm her nerves.

As she was going down the stairs, she heard voices, and saw that Severus and his parents were having a serious discussion. Lily quickly hid behind a statue, hoping that no one saw her, and listened to the conversation. She felt a little guilty doing so, but she was stuck hiding behind the statue so she thought she might as well be entertained. 

"Well dear, you have made some rather interesting friends while at Hogwarts, haven't you?" his mother said in a suspicious tone.

Severus' eyes widened. "What do you mean by that," he asked slowly.

Then Mr. Snape spoke up, "I never thought I'd see the day when a mud blood was in Slytherin. When you first told us, we had figured that her grandparents had at least been wizards and witches--but this? Really Severus! Your friend Tara is nice enough; she's quite a beautiful young girl, even. Spend your time with Lucius and her…and dump this Lily person."

Severus spun around to face his father looking very angry, but like he was trying to keep his temper in check. "Lily is one of the best people I've met muggleborn or not," he said in an icy calm voice. "It doesn't even matter to me what you say! She's my friend and I won't give her up for anyone."

"Son please listen to me!" his father broke in. "She's so far beneath you, she's probably bringing down your reputation."

His mother sighed slightly. "I know its hard son…but she is practically the dirt under your feet."

Lily was surprised to find herself full out crying after this last comment. How could his parents be so vicious? They didn't even know her. What was wrong with muggleborns? Why did his parents stab her in the back like this? Would Severus listen to their advice? All of these questions tortured her as she waited for Severus to answer. She could not see his face now from where she was hiding, so she could not tell his emotions. 

"Lily is not the dirt under my feet. She is better than me…and you for that matter. She is beautiful, smart, funny, kindhearted…she's one of the best people Hogwarts has ever seen. We should feel privileged to be from the same house as she is!" And with that he stalked off in the direction of his room.

***

Christmas finally came. Lily had been at her wits end and though that she could not bear living there anymore. Mr. and Mrs. Snape snubbed her and favored Tara and Lucius. It was subtly done and Tara and Lucius didn't notice, but Lily did, and she was sure Severus did also. 

Everyone woke early Christmas morning and ran downstairs to gather around Severus' huge Christmas tree. There were many presents for all of them. Lily received most of them from her parents, but a few were from her friends. Lily tried to keep her box of candy she got from the Gryffindor group hidden from the Snapes. Lily liked all of her presents, but she thought James and co. were a little too unoriginal. Severus gave her a mirror that whenever you looked in it, it said your good qualities. Lily had a feeling that he just gave that to her to spite his parents. Tara gave her a ring that glowed green whenever she was around someone that really loved her and red whenever she was around someone that really hated her. She put it on while they were still opening presents and the ring started flashing the two different colors at an unbelievably fast pace and started giving off a squeaking noise. She hurriedly took it off. Confusing it like that would probably break it. Lucius had given her an old stale chocolate frog with the card missing.

Lily had given Severus, Tara and Lucius books that automatically recorded the three most noble things you've done in your life. As you get older, and if you do more noble things, the older, less-noble acts are recorded over and replaced by new ones.

The Christmas feast was as spectacular as one could expect from a mansion. Lily felt unwelcome and uneasy, though, and she was glad when Severus decided to go back to school early so he could catch up on his potions homework.

As Lily stepped on the train she sighed in relief. When they left, his parents gave up basically all pretense of civility. They had practically glared at her the whole morning.

"Well at least that is over with!" Lily sighed as she sat down on the train.

"Yea," Severus agreed.

Tara and Lucius looked shocked.

"But we had a wonderful time!" Tara said.

"At least someone did," Severus muttered.

Lily groaned quietly. "I was hoping your parents would like me."

"Me to…and they made their dislike so obvious…I'm sorry Lil…," Severus replied sadly.

"Its ok, the world isn't perfect," she said. It seemed like she was saying that a lot lately.


	9. Slytherin Glory

Same disclaimer as other Chapters :)  
  
Author's Note: Ok sorry this has taken FOREVER to get out–and sorry if this chapter isn't very good–it's very–random! I had like 2 things planned for this chapter and I started writing and...um wow...I didn't plan a lot of this so...hope its good :)!  
  
Please review! Reviewers are what keep me writing! :)  
Oh and thanks to everyone who has reviewed! And sorry again for how long this has taken!  
  
Chapter 9: Slytherin Glory  
  
After they returned to school, Lily and Severus never spoke of their Christmas vacation and glared at anyone who did. Time passed slowly, and as usual Lily spent her time studying and hanging out with the Gryfs or Severus and Tara.  
  
Remus Lupin returned to school, and Lily soon got him to agree to be Jessica's friend. He was always sweet to everyone and tried never to complain, but Lily still felt kind of guilty. The poor boy hadn't known what he was getting himself into. Lily grimaced every time she heard "Remy" being yelled down a hall.  
  
As the end of the school year neared, Severus had Quidditch practices in almost every single free moment of his, so Lily spent most of her time with James and Sirius. She began to feel more a part of their group and they even let her into some of their secret plots. Lily, of course, thought they were all stupid and pointless, but she liked being included anyway.  
  
During this time, Lily and Tara decided to take turns sneaking each other into their own common rooms. This went better than expected. The Ravenclaws never reported it because they liked Tara and the Slytherins never did because they were afraid that if they made Lily mad, Severus would beat them up.  
  
Through all of this, Lily was surprised to find that she was feeling lonely. She barely saw Severus. Sure her other friends were great, but she had no one to complain to–no one to tease relentlessly and get away with it. It was during this time that she came to an unbelievable realization. She liked Severus Snape.   
  
After making this realization, she wasn't quite sure what to do. The only boy Lily had liked at Hogwarts was James. Well, she still liked him. She liked both of them. Is that a bad thing? She thought to herself, Does that make me some kind of player? She felt very confused. Tara didn't help matters. She was usually babbling about some boy or another, but the person that she constantly liked was also Severus. Every time Tara brought up the subject of him, Lily would quickly change the subject to something else like how Slytherin house had a good chance of winning both cups that year.   
  
Even that subject didn't help sometimes since talking about the Quidditch cup brought up the "big game" between Slytherin and Gryffindor and how Severus must be nervous for it.  
  
The day of the game finally arrived, and Lily and Tara arrived early to get good seats.  
  
"I wonder how Sev's doing," Tara said nervously.  
  
Lily laughed. "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably acting his usual cocky self."  
Tara joined with Lily in laughing. "Yea, that's probably right. Can't you picture him signing autographs and saying that he's the best keeper in history?"  
  
Just then, the players walked out onto the field.  
  
Severus led the Slytherins out. Despite his inexperience and youth, he had been elected captain of the team. James, who was the captain of the Gryffindors, led his team onto the field. The referee walked to the center of the field with the balls. The crowd looked on as the players mounted, the snitch was released, and the game began.  
  
The quaffle whizzed at lightning speed back and forth between players down the field, only to be rejected by the other team's keeper. Five minutes went by without a score, and Lily was feeling dizzy and slightly bored.   
  
"COME ON SLYTHERIN!," she yelled.  
  
Tara sighed. "The teams seem to be evenly matched...this could go on forever."  
  
Finally, however, Slytherin scored. "10-0 Slytherin!" the announcer yelled.  
  
The whole Slytherin section erupted in screams and yells of excitement. The game had finally become interesting. Slytherin scored again, and again...and again...in fact they scored the next eight goals.   
  
"I wonder what's wrong with the Gryffindor keeper," Tara questioned while pulling out her binoculars. "Usually he doesn't let anything get through."  
  
After peering at the Gryffindor Keeper for a moment she said sounding concerned, "He looks sick! Maybe they should stop the game."  
  
Lily gave her an incredulous look. "That wouldn't be fair to our players. If he's sick they should put in a replacement."  
  
No replacement came, however, and the score was soon 150-0 Slytherin. After the last goal, Gryffindor called an emergency time out. Lily was screaming so loud she was losing her voice and giving herself a headache, but she didn't care. They were winning! Slytherin could win the Quidditch cup!  
  
When the players walked back from their huddles, sure enough, Gryffindor had their replacement keeper with them. Lily gasped when she saw who it was.  
  
"How on EARTH did Peter get on the team?" Tara voiced Lily's thought.  
  
"Well, his parents do have a lot of money and perhaps..." she stopped. What a terrible thing to think about her friend!  
  
Tara, however, was not Peter's friend and certainly did not feel guilty. "That is probably it! The Gryffindors got new uniforms and brooms this year..."  
  
She was cut off as the whistle blew and play commenced once again. Peter was a little better than the poor other Gryffindor Keeper that had been doubled over on his broom ready to thrown up, but only just. He let another goal get through almost immediately. On the other end of the field, Severus continued to make one brilliant save after another. In the last one he made, he flipped over backwards and caught the ball one handed. Just then, a roar erupted from the crowd. James Potter had caught the snitch and the game was over. Slytherin had won the Quidditch cup!  
  
Lily started screaming excitedly and jumping up and down. Tara joined her in the thrill of the moment, but stopped after she had time to think.  
  
"You and Sev are a bad influence on me! Why should I care if Slytherin won? Ravenclaw's team wasn't even close to having a chance of winning the cup," she said wryly.   
  
Beaming back at her Lily shouted in a mock evil voice, "We're corrupting you!"  
  
"Why did James catch the snitch though?" Tara questioned. "Didn't he realize it would make them lose?"  
  
Lily looked down at the field where the Slytherin team was celebrating and the Gryffindors were involved in a very heated conversation. IT looked like Peter was yelling at James while the rest of the team tried, in vain, to subdue him.  
  
"He must not have been paying attention to the score," Lily commented. "I feel bad for him, but... we won!!" she said jumping into the air and squealing.  
  
Tara laughed, "I noticed," she said teasingly. "Let's go find Severus."  
  
Lily didn't relish the idea of fighting her way through the insane, wild crowd, but Tara seemed determined and pulled her in after her.  
  
Finally, after five minutes of pushing and shoving and only moving a few feet, they decided tog o back to Slytherin Common Room and wait for him there. They were surprised to find the Common Room completely empty except for one person lying on a couch.   
  
"Everyone's probably still on the field," Tara said.  
  
On close inspection, they discovered the person on the couch was Severus, looking very ill. Upon seeing them, he smiled weakly.  
  
"We won," he said in a raspy and pained sounding voice.  
  
"You sure did..." Tara said sounding slightly tired of the topic.  
  
Lily knelt down by the couch, looking concerned. "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.  
  
Severus tried to sit up, but failed. "I...er..." he grunted. "I'm fine."  
  
"You are not fine, Severus Snape! What's wrong?" Lily asked again feeling even more worried.  
  
He coughed. "No really...I just got a sudden sharp pain in my stomach right after the game was over. Then I got a headache, so I decided to come back here. Of course, I've had a runny nose and cough for a week, my whole body aches...but I figured...then the hot and cold flashes started..." he rambled to a stop.  
  
"Ok, you've listed most of the symptoms I've ever heard about...I've never heard about them all at once before, though. You obviously haven't been taking very good care of yourself." Lily said in a motherly tone.  
  
Tara felt his head. "Perhaps we should take him to the hospital wing. He feels kind of warm."  
  
"No, no, no...not necessary," he tried to say in his cocky I could never be hurt, I'm Severus Snape! way, but managed only to make the two girls decide he definitely needed medical attention.  
  
Lily pulled out her wand and lifted Severus off the couch with the levitating spell. She then opened the door to the common room and, floating Severus in front of her, proceeded down the hall towards the hospital wing.  
  
"This is ridiculous Lily," Severus groaned, "I can walk...and I don't need a doctor! I'm perfectly fine. All I need to do is rest a bit...honestly!"  
  
Tara, following behind, exchanged a knowing look with Lily and the two girls nodded. Tara took out her wand and cast a silencing spell on him. They both giggled. Severus tried in vain to talk and finding it futile, gave Lily and Tara a death glare that made them shiver, but not stop giggling.  
  
When they arrived at the hospital wing, the doctor started laughing at the sight of the odd looking threesome, but then became stern.  
  
"I hope there is a good reason for this..." she said.  
  
"Oh there is, Madam Birchell! He's terribly sick, but won't admit it!" Tara answered quickly.  
  
"Yes," Lily chimed in after her. "I think he needs major medical attention, but of course, since he's the cockiest boy I've ever met, he thinks he doesn't need anyone's help...so we decided to take him in ourselves."  
  
Madam Birchell grinned. "I see...well lets take a look at you Severus, shall we?"  
  
Lily put him down on one of the hospital beds, and the doctor began examining him. She let out a series of "hmms" and "oos" and finally came to a conclusion.  
  
"You girls were quite right bringing him in. He has many diseases on top of each other, probably due to overworking himself. He'll have to stay here at least two weeks to recover."  
  
Severus, just being released from the silencing spell, burst in, "Two weeks! But its final exams! I won't even be there for the reviews!"  
  
Madam Birchell smiled. "Most would be glad to miss the exams. Well, you can take them from your hospital bed. Missing the reviews will not be the best thing for your scores, but you're so bright you'll no doubt pass them easily."  
  
Lily smiled, "He wants to be best in his class, like always...well I guess you'll have to study like everyone else." she said, giving him a triumphant look. Then seeing the pained expression on his face changed her tune. "I'm sorry you're so sick, Sev. We'll come and visit you a lot, though, so you won't be lonely. And remember...we just won the Quidditch Cup–life is good–I bet most of Slytherin house will be in here asking for autographs."  
  
This made him grin back at her. "Thanks Lil," he said.   
  
"Now, now, you two, he needs his rest!" Madam Birchell said, shooing Tara and Lily out. They waved one last time then went back to their Common Rooms.  
  
***  
  
The end of the year went by in a flash. Lily didn't seem to have time for anything. Between studying, visiting Severus, who only did minimal studying despite missing review week in his classes, and celebrating with her house, she barely had time to breathe. Tests soon came and went, however, and Lily took a whole day to herself to relax. She shut herself in her dormitory and slept, read, wrote, and drew. She only came out once, to visit Severus who was feeling very down. He didn't think he had done well on his exams, and still was feeling a little sick.  
  
Tests scores were posted a few days later, and Tara and Lily were among the first to check their scores. Lily had gotten second and Tara had gotten first. Trying not to be jealous, Lily congratulated her. She had studied harder and Lily had beaten her all the other years...it was only fair.  
  
Tara could barely believe her success, but didn't brag or make a big deal out of it. Lily silently thanked her for this and realized what a good friend she was.  
  
After checking their own scores they went and checked the 4th year's. Lily and Tara gasped in astonishment. Severus had still gotten first!...tied with James Potter...but still!  
  
"Its not even fair!" Tara complained. "The boy doesn't even try!"  
  
"I know!" Lily agreed. "He was even complaining that he didn't think he had done well."  
  
They ran to the hospital wing to tell him.  
  
He greeted them with a huge grin. "Madam Birchell says I get to leave tomorrow!"   
  
"That's wonderful!" Lily exclaimed, "and...we've got some good news for you."  
  
"What?" he asked, curiously.  
  
"You tied for first place on the exams!" Tara beamed.  
  
Tara and Lily were surprised that he looked extremely put out. "Tied?" he asked sadly. "With who?"  
  
Lily said gently, "James..."  
  
"JAMES!" he growled. "I should have actually studied...and actually tried on the exams...I was just feeling so sick..."  
  
"SEVERUS!" Lily yelled, "IT'S A GOOD thing. You did GREAT, especially for being sick."  
  
He looked at her sadly. "I should have done better...You guys can go celebrate your good scores that I'm sure you got...I'll see you tomorrow." He turned away from them.  
  
Lily and Tara exchanged confused looks and left, glancing over their shoulders at him.  
  
***  
  
When Severus got out of the hospital, he was much perkier, but did not even mention the end of year exams. He was obviously trying to forget they ever happened. Lily switched off hanging out between Severus (who was sometimes accompanied by Lucius) and Tara and the Gryffindors, but found she had more fun with Severus and Tara, so spent more time with them. There was obvious tension between Peter and James, so it was not very pleasant being around them most of the time.   
  
At the end of the year feast, Lily sat by Severus and Lucius, as usual. Slytherin had won the House Cup this year...both cups! Lucius couldn't stop talking about it...one of the few times she heard Lucius say only positive things in a sentence.   
  
"Can you believe the glory Slytherin has gotten this year?" he raved, "I can't wait to tell my parents..."  
  
Severus and Lily agreed and grinned. This would be a feast to remember.   
  
The headmaster announced the start of the feast, and they all began eating as quickly as possible. After that, he proclaimed Slytherin the winner of the House Cup and the whole table began celebrating and throwing their hats up in the air.  
  
***  
  
Lily and Tara told Severus, Lucius, and the Gryffindors to sit somewhere else on the train...they wanted to talk.  
  
As they sat on the train, Lily thought back on the past year.  
  
"So much has happened this year, but its gone by so quickly at the same time...I wonder what next year will be like?"  
  
Tara smiled, "I've heard rumors that there's going to be a dance or a ball of some sort...I'm so excited...although I don't know if anyone will ask me."  
  
"Well if you really want to go and no one will ask you I'm sure you could get Gilderoy to go with you..." Lily teased.  
  
"Stop it Lily!" Tara grinned, "you're supposed to be a supportive friend..."  
  
Lily grinned back. "I am! Well I definitely won't be asked if YOU aren't asked..." she said looking at her gorgeous friend. "If we're not we can throw our own party."   
  
"Yes..." she agreed. "But who would we invite? Our only other friends are all guys and they'll be at the dance..."  
  
"Only we are invited!...we're too good for everyone else," Lily said in mock snobbery.  
  
"Yes of course!" Tara said, putting her nose in the air. "MUCH too good."  
  
People around them started giving them strange looks and the two girls started giggling.  
  
  



	10. The fun of Dating Begins

(A/N) Due to the release of the fifth Harry Potter book, parts of my story are ruined. (Well parts of my plans for the story are at least.) But we'll work with it. I'll do what I can to work the book into my story and see how it goes. Deal? Deal. Sorry this took so long for me to write. If I just sit down at my computer and start writing I'll get whole chapters done...ever getting around to sitting down is the problem.   
  
Anyways thank you as always to my wonderful reviewers...and I loved writing this chapter, I think it's juicy...and sets up for things to come...  
  
Enjoy...I hope.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters, but I do own my gifts that they give each other...and doesn't my grade book sound like a lot like Hermione's homework journal she gave Ron and Harry? Great minds think alike... j/k.  
  
  
  
Ch 10 The fun of dating begins   
  
That summer, the rumor of the dance was found to be true. The administration sent out a letter to each 4th year and up student saying that all students should bring dress robes to school the next year. Tara was staying at Lily's house when the letter arrived, and since neither of them had dress robes, Lily's mother decided to take them shopping. They went to Diagon Alley and after exchanging pounds for galleons, went shopping.  
  
The first robe Tara tried on was deep red made out of fabric that sparkled. It fit her figure perfectly and she looked like a model. Lily's first robe was light blue that clung to her in a most unattractive way and made her complexion look pasty. They swapped robes and again Tara looked perfect, but the red on Lily completely clashed with her hair. They each tried on two more with the same results; Tara looked good in everything while for some reason there was always a problem with every single one for Lily. Tara decided to get the first robe she had tried on. They moved on to the next shop.  
  
And the next shop...  
  
And the next shop...  
  
...  
  
After a whole day of searching, Lily was almost in tears. Her mother and Tara tried to comfort her.  
  
"Sometimes it's hard to find the right dress..or robe I guess in this case," her mother said, "but once you do, it's perfect!"  
  
And sure enough, the next robe she tried on was perfect...almost.  
  
It was emerald green, bringing out her eyes and made of slinky satin that flowed down to her ankles. She looked absolutely gorgeous in it. Unfortunately, it was low cut and sleeveless. Her mother did not approve.  
  
"I'm sorry, but you're not wearing that young lady," her mother stated.  
  
Lily sighed. She didn't want to wear anything that was "scandalous," but they had looked so long. "But mom, there's nothing else..." she started.  
  
"I'm sure there are more stores," her mother started, but there was exhaustion in her voice. "Fine," she said after a moment. "But I'm altering it–raising the neckline and giving it sleeves," she said.  
  
"But how are you going to find the same fabric?" Tara asked.  
  
Lily's mom sighed and thought for a moment. "Fine! I'll buy two of them and cut up the other one ot make the alterations," she said in exasperation.   
  
Lily's eyes widened. "Thanks mom!" she said squealing in excitement. She jumped up and down.  
  
The price of the robes was outrageous, but her mother didn't care anymore–as long as they had found something.  
  
***  
  
Her mom finished the robe the day before Lily had to leave for school. Lily's mom had nearly killed herself making it look perfect, but it finally did.  
  
"You better have a wonderful time at this dance," her mom said laughing.  
  
It was then that a horrible possibility hit Lily. What if she wasn't asked to the dance and all of her mom's hard work and money were for nothing? She decided then and there she would pretend that she had gone anyway and hear about the details from Tara.  
  
***  
  
As Lily boarded the train for Hogwarts, she took a deep breath. It was the beginning of a whole new year and she felt a rush of excitement and slight anxiety. She calmed down a bit when she saw Tara, Severus, and Lucius sitting at the end of the compartment, talking. Lily sighed. Although she was very excited to see Severus it had always seemed to be a pact between Tara and her that they would sit together alone on the train so they could discuss boys and other girl topics. _Oh well_, she thought.  
  
"Hey," Lily said as she sat next to a scowling Lucius Malfoy. Lily smiled charmingly at him and his expression got even darker.  
  
Severus's eyes brightened at the sight of her, however, and he exclaimed, "Hi Lily! It's so great to see you again. Sorry I didn't see you there for a minute...Tara had me distracted."  
  
Lily's mood darkened a little, but she scolded herself. She should not be jealous of her best friend. She noticed that Severus was wearing his hair in a ponytail again and shook her head. It didn't seem to suit him.  
  
"Don't shake your head at me, Lily Evans. This is the beginning of the year...I can't have done something to make you mad at me already, can I?"  
  
Lily smiled. "No, you haven't...I was just looking at your...new robes. But that's not important. How was your summer?"  
  
Severus sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it, thank you."  
  
"His parents got into another huge fight and are separated again," Lucius piped in for the first time and received a glare from Severus.  
  
"Again?" Lily and Tara said at once.  
  
"I didn't know there was any problem between your parents Sev," Lily said looking concerned.  
  
Severus shook his head. "I don't really like people knowing," he said giving Lucius another glare, "but they've always had problems. Don't worry about it, let's talk about something else."  
  
Lily, Tara and Lucius all exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything. An uncomfortable silence spread over the group and Lily, desperate to break it, burst out, "So who are you guys thinking of asking to the dance?"  
  
Lucius smirked. "I don't know, but I'm sure any girl in the school would love to go with me."  
  
Tara and Lily burst out in incredulous laughter while Severus nodded in agreement.  
  
"Boys are so cocky!" Tara exclaimed.  
  
Severus, who seemed to be in a depressed mood ever since the topic of his parents came up said "I wasn't agreeing that any girl would like to go with me too–Lucius is rich and all you girls probably think he's...handsome. I probably won't go at all. No one will want to go with me."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't be like that. I'm sure plenty of girls want to go with you."  
  
Lucius smiled, "She's right Sev. You could get any girl. And that's not being cocky, it's honest. Cocky is James and Sirius. They're holding auditions to get dates."  
  
The other three screamed, "WHAT?" at the same time.  
  
"You didn't hear?" Lucius said, surprised. "I thought Lily'd be first in line."  
  
Lily glared at him. "I'm sure it's just a rumor...you can't be serious..."  
  
Lucius turned around and pointed to a flyer a few feet behind them. "See for yourself," he said.  
  
She marched down, grabbed it off the wall, and brought it back for the rest to say.  
  
"What does it say?" Severus asked sounding disgusted.  
  
Lily read aloud.  
  
_ Attention all Young Single Women of Hogwarts!__  
__This is your lucky day! The two hottest and most popular boys in Hogwarts are looking for dates to the upcoming Winter Wonderland Ball. Since finding the perfect, most beautiful dates on our own would be quite an ordeal, we have decided to hold auditions. The sign up lists for times will be available by contacting James Potter, and Siruis Black (the two dates, of course), or Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Please sign up for times according to your last name:__  
__  
__A-H September__  
__I-S October__  
__T-Y November __  
__  
__ If your last name starts with Z, don't bother coming. We've already searched out all of the girls who's last name starts with Z, and none of them are hot enough to be up to par with our standards_.  
  
_  
_ _ Thank you and we're looking forward to seeing you there. _   
  
Lily crumpled the ad in rage. Tara screamed, Severus made a sound of disgust, and Lucius laughed.   
  
"See I told you," Lucius said.  
  
Severus scowled, "And I told you that they were no good, Lily, but no you always defended them and said they were good deep down inside..."  
  
"I don't believe this," Lily said quietly. "It's either a set up or a joke on their part."  
  
Tara shook her head. "I think so too Lily, but if this is legit... this is one of the stupidest things they've ever done."  
  
"I agree," Lily said, scowling.  
  
And again, Lucius laughed.  
  
***  
  
To everyone's horror and disgust, and Lucius's great amusement, the ad was real.   
  
The ball was announced at the opening feast, and afterwards, to Lily's astonishment, girls started gathering around the four boys, clamoring to sign a list.   
  
The next time Lily saw James, she announced that she wasn't speaking to him.  
  
And life continued to be as fun as ever after that. Classes started as usual, and Severus actually started to study. After tying with James the last year in tests and all of the teacher's speeches on OWLS, he even seemed kind of stressed.   
  
But, worst of all, as time passed everyone started to get asked to the dance. Lucius picked his date, the snobby, rich, beautiful Spanish foreign exchange student, Severus declared that he didn't want to go, and the auditions continued, but Lily and Tara still had not been asked.  
  
Lily wasn't worried for Tara. Even though she refused to go to the auditions, it was quite obvious that James wanted to go with her anyway, at least that was the school rumor, and so she was as good as asked. But Lily herself was very anxious. Most of the boys that she was friends with had already chosen dates. Remus had asked Jessica, Peter had asked some popular Hufflepuff who was too nice to say no, Sirius and James had the auditions and possibly Tara, and Severus refused to go. _Oh joy_ , she thought.  
  
Finally, one day, after dressing up in her robes again to see if they fit, she decided to go down to the common room and think for awhile. It was about one in the morning and no one would still be awake. As she went over to sit on the couch by the fire, she noticed that Severus was sitting there by himself looking into the flames.   
  
"Oh Lil," he said sleepily. "What're you doing up?"  
  
Lily tried to stay in the shadows to hide her robe. "I...um...couldn't sleep."  
  
"Me neither," he said, moving over and patting a cushion. "Come, sit down."  
  
"Erm, no that's alright. I'll go back upstairs," she said edging toward the steps to the girl's dormitories.  
  
Severus half stood up, "No seriously, I'd be really grateful for the company... Please?" he asked in his best begging voice.  
  
"Alright," Lily said walking slowly over to him to sit down. _Maybe he won't notice. He's a boy, they don't notice things._  
  
But apparently he did because he let out a whistle and said, "Wow, Lil, you look gorgeous. What's the occasion, some secret date tonight that I'm interrupting? Who is it...let me guess...Lucius!" He burst out laughing.   
  
"No," she said slowly, blushing slightly, "I was just trying on my dress robes to see if they still fit and thought I'd come down here and think for a while. It probably wouldn't matter if they didn't fit, though." She sighed.  
  
"Why, Lil?" He said putting his arm around her as she sunk into the couch.  
  
She put her head in her hands. "No one's asked me to the dance yet, and probably no one will."  
  
"Don't talk like that, I'm sure someone will. If they saw you in that outfit the whole school'd be hammering at your door." He said, then continued slowly, "Out of the whole school, Lil, who would you want to ask you?"  
  
Lily was taken aback at the question and realized that she wanted him to ask her more than anyone. She couldn't just tell him that, though and so she stammered embarrassedly. "Well, you know, someone nice but cute...I guess like James when he's not being stupid...or_ someone_." _ Like you_, she added in her head.  
  
"James, eh...?" he said sounding a bit disappointed. "Well I heard from unofficial sources he's planning to take Tara, but he could change his mind."  
  
"No, no he won't, but it's ok. It's really ok. This is just the first time I've ever talked about this with anyone, so I sound a bit...hurt and pathetic, but it'll pass," she said.  
  
Severus stood up abruptly. "No, Lily you'll be asked and have the night of your life, just wait." He smiled weakly and added a, "Good night," before heading up the stairs to his room.  
  
***  
  
Surprisingly, a few days later Lily was asked to the ball...by James. He came up to her one day and apologized for the audition thing and admitted that it had been stupid. Then he popped the question.  
  
"Will you, um, please go to the dance with me?" he asked, faltering a little.  
  
Lily was completely taken aback. "Um, I thought you were asking Tara."  
  
He smiled. "There was a change of plan, besides I believe Snape's planning on asking her in a little while."  
  
Lily's heart sank. Even though she liked James and was relieved at being asked and ecstatic that she was on speaking terms with him again she couldn't help but feel hurt. Severus was asking Tara?   
  
"Um, yes, James, I'd be delighted to go with you," she replied.  
  
"Cool," he replied smiling a little in relief, "Well, I'll..see you round."   
  
"Yea, see you," she said absentmindedly.  
  
Later, she met up with Tara and they talked about both of their confused feelings.   
  
"I mean, I really like Severus, but he had pledged he would not go to the dance and James had practically told me that he was going to ask me soon," Tara said.  
  
"Yea, I know," Lily replied, thinking. "It's weird for James to change his mind so abruptly, especially since I wasn't speaking to him until he apologized and asked me."  
  
"Yea," Tara sighed. "Well at least we're both going, even though we won't be able to talk much at the dance since our dates will be trying to kill each other if they're in each other's sight."  
  
Lily laughed. "Well, we'll have to get together afterwards and compare notes about our dates," she said slyly.  
  
"Of course!" Tara grinned.  
  
And so the day of the dance came...  
  
  
(A/N) MUWAHAHAH so what happened? Why did James ask Lily and Severus Tara? All will be revealed later in the story (well some of it like much later)...but it's good and juicy and...well I loved writing this chapter. Sorry it took so long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. The Ball

Ch 11 The Ball  
  
*dun dun dun...* rofl j/k   
  
(A/N) Ok...I'd like you all to notice that I posted this chapter so soon. It's only been a few days! I'm so good. Go me! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...in fact basically the only character I own in my story is Tara. – sad huh?  
  
The day of the dance there was an early morning Quidditch game between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Lily, for once, didn't know which side to root for. She had house pride, but if Gryffindor lost her date that night would be really grumpy. After weighing the options, Lily decided to still root for her team. She'd enjoy rubbing James' face in it if they won.  
  
And so that morning at 6:00 AM, not a fit hour for anyone to be up according to Lily, Lily and Tara arrived at the Quidditch field, one of them wrapped from head to foot in green and silver, and the other holding a sign that said "GO RAVENCLAW...I STILL BELIEVE!" Lily rolled her eyes at Tara. Ravenclaw had lost their first two games and were pretty much out of contention already.  
  
"Right, I hope our dates don't kill each other because I'm so excited for this ball," Tara said enthusiastically.  
  
Lily laughed. "Well since they play positions that don't exactly interact with each other, I think we should be ok.  
  
"But this is James and Severus..." Tara observed, "somehow they always can find a way to get into a fight..."  
  
Just then the players walked out onto the field and Lily started jumping up and cheering, while Tara stayed seated waving her sign.   
  
The game started out rather well. Slytherin scored the first seven goals and seemed to be pulling away from Gryffindor. Sirius answered, however, with a goal that just barely got past Severus. Slytherin again answered by scoring seven goals, and then finally an eighth goal. The score was 150-10. They only needed one more goal to put them out of danger even if James caught the snitch before the Slytherin seeker. Lily was screaming and even Tara had abandoned her poster and was cheering. Then all of the Slytherin cheering stopped short. James had caught the snitch and was holding it proudly in the air. They had lost.  
  
After the initial shock of that news, Lily started to think about the implications of the loss.   
  
"James will want to brag at the ball," Lily said glumly.  
  
"Severus will be horribly depressed," Tara said just as glumly.  
  
They both looked at each other. "Let's never mention this game again," Tara said.  
  
"Works for me," Lily replied.  
  
***  
  
  
Lily had to bribe the girls in her dorm ten chocolate frogs each before they allowed Tara to sneak into their room to get ready for the dance, but to Lily, it was worth it. It was nice to have someone there to help her get ready and to give her advice on makeup, which was still foreign to her.   
  
First, Lily got into her now perfect dress robes and then put her hair up into an up do with some of her magical hair clips. After that, Lily turned herself over to Tara who pulled out her extensive makeup collection.  
  
"Now, lets see," Tara said sucking on the end of an eyebrow pencil. "You definitely should have some eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow. Your eyes are gorgeous and should be brought out..."  
  
Tara wen ton for a few more minutes and Lily became increasingly more afraid. She noticed a certain glee in Tara's voice as if she had been dying to do Lily's makeup for quite some time. Lily tried to think positively and not to flinch even when Tara shoved a mascara brush at her eye. Finally, well actually only about five minutes later, it was over.  
  
"Voila!" Tara exclaimed handing Lily a mirror. "My masterpiece is complete."  
  
Lily gasped sightly as she looked into the mirror. She didn't look fake and still looked like herself, only a prettier self.  
  
"Wow, Tara thanks!" Lily said in astonishment.  
  
Tara laughed. "I didn't do much. You've got so much natural beauty. I only enhanced it."  
  
One of Lily's roommates turned around to look and gasped. "Lily? Natural beauty? You must have used every trick in the trade to get her like that. She looks halfway decent."   
  
Lily and Tara glared at her and Tara whispered in a meant to be heard voice, "Don't worry Lily, she's just jealous because she has to go to the dance with Goyle..."  
  
The girl squealed with rage and grabbed a tube of mascara, emptied it on Tara's dress and stormed out of the room. Tara almost started crying before Lily magic-ed the liquid off of her dress.  
  
"Wow, nice spell," Tara said gratefully.  
  
"It was one of the first spells I memorized," she explained. "When you spill things as often as I do it becomes a necessity."  
  
Tara laughed and then looked around to see the rest of the girls in the dormitory glaring at them. Goyle's date was long gone, but the others didn't seem to be too happy with them either.  
  
"Um...if you're ready, Lily, I think we should go now," Tara suggested in a quiet, careful voice.  
  
Lily nodded. "Yea, me too."  
  
The two girls both made a dash for the door and luckily made it into the common room before any other problems could arise.  
  
"Vicious, those roommates of yours," Tara commented.  
  
Lily sighed. "Yea, but I've gotten used to them..."  
  
It was then that they heard two gasps behind them. Upon turning around they saw Severus and Lucius in their dress robes gaping at them.   
  
"You two..." Severus stammered, "You're both gorgeous!"  
  
Lucius nodded, "Yea, Tara always is but Evans really pulled one out of the bag. If you tried really hard, Lily, you could probably make it as a..."  
  
Severus interrupted him loudly. "Well, should we go?"  
  
Lucius had been even nastier to Lily than usual since she had accepted to go to the dance with James. Severus was trying to keep the peace by interrupting Lucius all of the time, but it didn't always work.  
  
"Yes," said Tara, just as loudly. "We don't want to be late...and you two," she indicated Lily and Lucius, "still have to find your dates."  
  
The four of them stepped out of the common room and Lucius announced, "My date is picking me up here."  
  
"You're making her pick you up?" Tara asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes," Lucius said as if he were doing the only logical thing.  
  
"James said he'd pick me up here too," Lily said slowly.  
  
"You two can go ahead," Lucius said slyly. "We'll be fine waiting here by ourselves."  
  
Severus cast a suspicious look at him. "Um... no we'll wait here," he said giving Tara a knowing glance.  
  
Lucius laughed. "Don't worry, Severus. I'll be a good boy. I won't even insult her, promise. Besides, you don't want to be here when James arrives."  
  
Again, Severus gave him a suspicious look and then said, "Ok then, give me your wand for a second."  
  
Lucius obliged, hesitantly.  
  
Severus waved his own wand and muttered some words Lily couldn't make out. "There you go," he said, handing the wand back, "That'll hold you to your promise."  
  
"Ok," Lucius said slowly.  
  
"Shall we go, Tara?" Severus asked, holding his arm and allowing her to take it. "Bye, Lil," he said as he walked away. "Have a wonderful time."  
  
Then they left down the hallway. Lucius looked after them to make sure they were gone and then turned to Lily. "So, why do you suspect Potter asked you to the ball? You must have had a good audition."  
  
"No, I didn't audition," Lily said haughtily, raising her chin a little. "He just asked me. I don't know why."  
  
Lucius grinned evilly. "It might have been for other reasons then. Or perhaps you persuaded him, after all you aren't any better than a common..."  
  
Out of nowhere, Lucius's wand jumped from his robes and started hitting him on the head and yelling in Severus's voice.  
  
"LIAR!" _Thud._ "LIAR!" _Thud._ "LIAR!" _ Thud._ "YOU"_ Thud_. "BETTER" _Thud_. "START _Thud_. "KEEPING" _Thud_. "YOUR" _Thud_. "PROMISES" _Thud_. "BEFORE" _ Thud_. "SOMETHING" _ Thud_. "BAD" _ Thud_ . "HAPPENS" _Thud_. "TO" _ Thud_. "YOU!!!!" _Thud_.  
  
Lucius made wild grabs for the wand and finally got it under control. He rubbed his hair and said, "OW! How in the world did Severus do that? Something bad happens to me? Something bad did happen to me. My head hearts and my hair is probably all messed up. Now I'll have to go fix it..." he grumbled to Lily, who was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing. "Psh," he grumbled again and went back into the Slytherin common room.   
  
After Lucius disappeared as the door closed, Lily started laughing hysterically. Just then, James came walking down the hallway and saw Lily trying hard to contain her laughter.   
  
"Oh, James, hi! Severus...put...a...a...spell on...Lucius's... w...wand and...it hit him over...the head and...started...yelling about...keeping promises...when he broke one....and... it... was ... so... funny!!!" Lily burst out between spouts of laughter.  
  
James smiled a bit and gave Lily a sideways look. "Um, yea sounds hilarious," he said taking a half-step back. "You look beautiful," he said handing her a rose as she finally got her giggling under control.  
  
"Thank you," she said smiling, "you look pretty good yourself."  
  
He beamed and offered her his arm and they walked off in the direction of the Great Hall where the ball was being held.  
  
***  
  
When Lily entered the Great Hall she was amazed at the transformation. It had been changed into a winter fairy land, with real snowflakes that fell from the sky that never seemed to land. Wondering at the spell, Lily almost bumped into James before she realized he had stopped in front of her.   
  
"Want to dance?" he asked.  
  
Lily smiled slightly, "Um, yea thanks," she said slightly frazzled.  
  
They started to dance across the floor to a beautiful slow song. Lily let her mind wander, looking over all of the decorations and guests. She was amused at all of the couples she saw where the girl looked miserable as the guy droned on. Then of course, there were the couples kissing in corners, including, she noticed feeling slightly sick, Goyle and the girl from her dormitory.   
  
"Um, some Quidditch match today, wasn't it?" James said, interrupting her train of thought.  
  
"What?" Lily asked as she focused back into James.  
  
James spoke a little louder. "Um, I said it was quite a game today, I mean Gryffindor winning and all and me saving the game. Too bad your Seeker isn't very good, but I mean he is from Slytherin, what do you expect?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes but didn't answer, so James continued. "Isn't Quidditch the best? In fact, I got you something." He pulled her off of the dance floor as the song ended and over to the snack table. After searching around in his pockets for a while he finally pulled out what he was looking for.  
  
"Aha!" he said as he presented her with a golden snitch.  
  
"Um, you got me the game snitch?" Lily asked incredulously.  
  
James beamed. "Yep. I always carry one with me," he said casually letting the snitch fly away and grabbing it back, "but I wanted you to have this one."  
  
Lily looked at the snitch a minute, thinking of how to reply. What was she going to do with a snitch? Besides since her team had just lost she wasn't exactly in the mood to talk or think about Quidditch. She loved the game but everyone had their limits!   
  
"No, thanks James, but I can't really use a snitch," she said looking at him with a sad look on her face. "I wouldn't have anywhere to put it. Besides you're the seeker. You keep it."  
  
James's face fell a little. "Well, I mean I thought you'd appreciate it because this was such a special game for me and Gryffindor and all. But, I understand what you mean. On the other hand, though, you could probably just put it in your trunk and keep it there. You could even write on it the date and the score: Gryffindor 160, Slytherin 150."  
  
Finally Lily couldn't take it anymore. "No James! Have you forgotten what house I am from!? I don't want a snitch with a score on it rubbing it in my face that we lost the game and probably all chances of winning the Quidditch cup! I don't want a stupid snitch at all! Can we PLEASE talk about something other than Quidditch!?" she screamed before she could stop herself.  
  
He stood there in silence for a while and a few of the people standing close to them gave Lily weird looks.  
  
"I'm sorry James," she said, mortified. "I just...we just lost and I'm not really in a Quidditch mood."  
  
James smiled a little back at her. "Don't worry about it," he said, "I know what you're talking about. I'm never in a good mood after we lose a match."  
  
She smiled back at him gratefully.  
  
"So, would you like some punch?" he said offering her a glass.  
  
"Yes, thank you," she said.  
  
They talked for a few minutes more about the past year and life in general. Lily became much happier as they caught up on each other's news they had missed since Lily had announced she wouldn't talk to him.   
  
After a few minutes of talking, Tara and Severus walked over to the punch bowl, Severus looking confident and Tara casting worried glances at James and him. To the girls' surprise, no fight erupted. They just looked at each other and nodded slightly as if there was some forced understanding between them. Lily and Tara exchanged a few words while Severus got punch for both of them and then they moved on over to talk to a group of students from Slytherin and Ravenclaw.   
  
"So what was that about?" Lily asked innocently.  
  
James looked at her as if he had been distracted. "Wha? Oh, that was nothing. What do you mean what was that?"  
  
"Well," Lily explained, "usually every time you see him you start yelling at each other or punching each other or...something."  
  
He just shrugged. "Well this is a ball. Do you expect me to be uncivilized enough to start a brawl in the middle of a formal occasion like this? But you're right. It is unusual for Snivellus."   
  
"Who?" Lily questioned, confused.  
  
"Oh," he said, "You missed out on our making up a nickname for him. We've missed you Lily."  
  
Lily gave him an annoyed look. "Well I think it's a stupid name. Honestly, can't you get any more creative? Or why can't you just call him by his name?"  
  
"Ha!" he said sounding amused. "As ugly as his name is it's not nearly ugly enough for him."  
  
Lily felt herself getting angry but quickly smothered it. She wasn't going to let herself explode again. "Let's talk about something else since we obviously will never agree on this topic," she said quickly.  
  
"Yea, um, want to dance again?" he asked.  
  
"Sure," she replied.  
  
And so James and Lily danced the night away with occasional stops to talk to some of her old Gryffindor group who she hadn't seen much of all year. They avoided the topics of Severus and Quidditch and got along perfectly.   
  
At the end of the night James walked Lily to the entrance of the Slytherin common room.  
  
"Well, I guess this is it," he said gazing into her eyes.  
  
She smiled slightly, "Yea, I guess it is..."  
  
He grinned back. "There's something that I've wanted to ask you all night," he said.  
  
"There is?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Um, yea, I was wondering if I could...kiss you?" James asked nervously.  
  
"Well, if you really want to," she said smiling a little.  
  
James smiled cockily. "Great, now I pull ahead of Sirius in how many girls we've both kissed."  
  
"WHAT!?" she almost shrieked. "How many girls exactly are you two up to?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to tell; it's part of the pact," he responded sounding scandalized.  
  
"Well you'll just have to stay tied then," Lily said angrily, pushing past him to the entrance. "Now go away so I can say the password."  
  
"But...Lily, I'm sorry. Please don't be this way!" he pleaded.  
  
Lily sighed loudly in exasperation. "This is exactly the reason I stopped hanging out with your group this year in the first place! You two are exasperating!! You are so cocky and have no clue or care about other people's feelings! As far as I'm concerned you two will never get the pleasure of using me to get ahead in your little games because I will never get near one of you again until you learn a little humility and some manners. Now go away!"  
  
She didn't turn around to look, but assumed James had left. After a few moments she said the password and went into the common room quite upset. They had been one of the last to leave the ball so the common room was empty except for Severus who was sitting on the couch in front of the fire reading a book.  
  
"You're back late," Severus said before going back to reading his book.  
  
"And you sound like my mother," Lily said smiling a little through her anger.  
  
Noticing the strain in her voice, Severus put the book down and moved over so she could sit down.   
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
  
Lily sat down and laid her head on his shoulder. He looked a little surprised but pleased at this. "James is a jerk," she said simply.  
  
Severus's expression suddenly became very dark. "Well I knew that, but did something happen on the date? Did you not have a wonderful evening?"  
  
"No, I had a great time," she said slowly as tears welled up in her eyes, "but at the end of it..."  
  
"YES!?" Severus asked his face becoming even more red.  
  
"He asked if he could kiss me and was bragging that when he did he'd have kissed more girls than Sirius...as if that was the only reason," she stopped.  
  
"AND!?!?" Severus asked, tension mounting in his voice.  
  
She sighed, "And so I got mad at him and yelled and basically said I never wanted to see him again until he changed..."  
  
Severus let out a long held breath. "You did the right thing, Lily. I'm sorry by the way that you didn't have the perfect night you'd envisioned. Did you not have a good time?" There was a strange kind of hope in his voice.  
  
"No, I had a great time, it's just, well it wasn't perfect," she gave him a wry smile.  
  
"Did you want to be kissed by James that badly?" he asked sounding incredulous and slightly sad.  
  
She sighed, "Well no I suppose it's not just because James didn't kiss me. Talking to you has made me feel better, though. Thanks."  
  
"No problem, Lil." After a moment of sitting there in silence he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "That make it better?"  
  
Lily was astonished. He had just kissed her forehead. Scverus Snape had KISSED her–and it was the special place her mom always used to kiss her... "That's what my mother always does when I'm having a hard day..." she started in a slightly emotional voice.  
  
"Will you stop comparing me to your mother!?" Severus said in mock anger, laughing.  
  
Lily burst out laughing with him. Just then, Lucius came down from the boys dormitories.  
  
"Um, are you guys ever going to quiet down? I'm trying to get some sleep up there..." he drawled.  
  
Severus stood up quickly, but was still laughing. "Yea, just a minute. Good night, Lil."  
  
"Good night Sev," she said and they laughed all the way back to their dormitories.  
  
(A/N) Ok so y'all ready for the next chapter where everything comes unglued? Well not everything, that comes much later, but well I gotta make it work with the books at least somewhat ... so next chapter will do some of that.   
  
BTW did you like this chapter? Please review or I don't know what my readers think and...then they could end up hating the story because I'm doing something that really bugs them.   
Thanks to all of my reviewers...I love you all! Thank you so much–you guys really are the best!! 


	12. Snivellus and the Mudblood

  
Ch. 12 Snivellus and the Mudblood 

(A/N) ok if you think this is a stupid or sad chapter, blame JK Rowling because this is the chapter where there is a lot of stuff from the books (because she put a lot of things from the past at the end of fifth year...) Anyways I'd like you to notice that this chapter is also out very quickly. :D 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters or the scene from chapter five. It has been shortened because I really didn't want to put the whole long scene in and I added my own flare.   


Life continued on as usual except for the fact that Severus continued to actually study for his exams. Last year's results had really had an impact on him, Lily noticed. Tara and Lily had had a long discussion after the dance about their dates. Apparently Tara had had a wonderful time but she didn't get kissed either. Lily felt strangely relieved but pretended to be sympathetic while Tara sympathized with Lily over the stupid things James had done on the date. 

Lily ignored the Gryffindors, with the exception of talking to Remus a little now and then. James didn't seem to have lost any of his confidence by getting turned down and continued to strut down the hallways, playing with his snitch. _When did James become this cocky?_ Lily asked herself. Hopefully it was just a phase he would grow out of eventually. 

Because she did not hang out with them anymore, Lily didn't notice any strange behavior on their part, unlike Severus. He kept mentioning it to her and she eventually watched them one day. They did seem to be hiding something and sneaking outside all of the time, looking over their shoulders. She brought it up with Severus one day in the common room. 

"You're right, I think they are up to something," Lily stated blandly as she walked into the room. 

"Who's up to what?" Severus asked as he was hurriedly finishing his potions homework. 

Lily sighed. "James and Sirius and...the rest, and I don't know what!" she said, frustrated. 

"Oh," he said, putting the finishing touches on his homework. "Yea, I think I'm going to follow them tonight to find out," he said casually. 

"No! I mean...that's probably not the safest or best plan, Sev. What if they try to frame you or something? You know how they always have plans..." she argued. 

Severus laughed. "Lil, no offense but I think I can take care of myself when it comes to those four if I want to." 

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" she asked skeptically. 

"Yes!" he said indignantly. " I'll go follow them tonight and find out what they're doing. It'll be no problem at all." 

"Maybe I should go with you..." Lily started 

"No Lil that's not necessary. Besides, I don't want you to have to see that conniving little Gryffindor's evil plots. I'm sure it won't be very pleasant," he said insistently. 

Lily sighed realizing that she wasn't going to win. "Fine, just be careful ok? And don't take to long or I'll be sitting up in the common room all night worrying." 

"Who sounds like a mother now?" he asked grinning as she glared at him. "I'll be fine; there's nothing to worry about." 

*** 

Later that night, Lily sat up in the common room staring at the door. She had tried reading at first, but that was no good, especially since the book she was reading was a muggle mystery horror story where a man gets killed when he was on a walk. Next she had tried pacing, but she soon became tired and people got annoyed at her. After a while she just sat down and tried to think of something else as the common room emptied when it became later and later. The hours crawled by but Lily couldn't sleep or relax. _Where was he?_

Finally, she saw him burst through the common room white as a sheet with his hair rumpled and scrapes all over his face and arms. Lily ran over to him. 

"What happened?" she asked, alarm apparent in her voice. 

Severus let out a few shuddering breaths and fell into her arms. "I...I went to the shack with the whomping willow in front of it...and...Lupin...was there...L...Lily...Tara was right! He is a werewolf!" He took a deep breath and added in a scornful voice, " Just as I was about to be attacked, James jumped in...and pulled me out." 

Lily gasped in amazed horror at this. "Lupin a werewolf? That's impossible..." she whispered. 

"No, no I saw him Lily...stupid Gryffindors. I was almost killed...and worst of all, James saved my life! _JAMES_! Of all the idiotic, stupid, horrible things that could happen in my life..." he spat out spitefully. 

"At least you're alive," Lily consoled, getting hold of the situation finally in her mind. 

"Bah!" he growled so spitefully that Lily jumped. "What good is it if I owe_ Potter_ my life?" 

Lily shook her head. "You don't owe him anything, Sev. He should have told me about this or something." 

"Well, everyone will know soon enough. We need to go to the Ministry of Magic and report him! They can't expect us to go to school with a werewolf!" he practically yelled. 

"No, Sev! We can't tell the Ministry! It'd be awful for him to be kicked out; it'd ruin his life! We can't do something that heartless...in fact I don't think we should tell anyone at all," she said. 

Severus looked at her strangely. "What?! You can't be serious. He almost killed me tonight or turned me into a werewolf...he'll be dangerous for other students too." 

"No he won't Sev! Think about it! Who else is going to follow him there besides one of us or one of his friends who already know. We shouldn't tell anyone!" she pleaded. 

"So basically you're saying you don't even care that I was almost killed!?" he yelled. 

Lily sighed. "Of course I care! It's just we can't ruin..." 

"Well he almost ruined my life!" he growled. 

"Well you can stop just thinking about yourself!" she said back, getting annoyed. 

Severus snapped. "What good is a friend if they don't care at all about you!?" 

"Do you think I don't care? Why do you think I've been sitting up here waiting all night?" she screamed, very annoyed. 

"And yet, when it comes to one of the precious Gryffindors or me you'll pick them every time. Oh don't hurt precious REMUS, oh James isn't that bad, oh James is so hot, James James James...I want to go with James...honestly Lily do you ever talk of ANYTHING ELSE?" he yelled. 

Lily's face turned red in anger and her fists clenched at her sides. "That's NOT true! If you weren't so caught up in yourself and actually LISTENED you'd know that!" 

"Ingrate." 

"Jerk!" 

"Witch!" 

Lily laughed, "Thank you!" 

"That's not what I meant!" 

"Greasy haired idiot!" 

"Mudblood," he said in a deathly quiet voice. 

"WHAT did you just call me?" Lily cried out. 

Severus's voice rose. "You heard me! Mudblood! Yes stupid little mudblood who ruined my life, who made me turn against everything I ever valued, who stripped me of my pride, who made me turn against everyone that I cared about!" 

Lily looked deep into his dark, anger filled eyes as hers filled with tears. "Don't ever speak to me again," she said in a deathly quiet voice and went up to her dormitory. 

*** 

For not the first time Lily thought she was the most miserable she had ever been in her life. The only friend who she was still talking to was Tara and she had refused to take sides in the fight and still hung out with Severus. Lily tried not to resent this, but it was hard. Why did people have to be so stupid all of the time? 

As Lily watched from afar, she noticed Severus becoming more and more sloppy and caring less and less about his appearance. He spent most of his time in his room or studying defense against the dark arts in the common room. He let his hair fall free and long where it often fell in his face. The only time she saw him look happy was when he was with Tara. He rarely looked at Lily and the few times she caught him looking at her he quickly turned away. 

With lack of anything else to do, Lily started hanging out with Tara's Ravenclaw friends. Time crawled on and on. Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff for the Quidditch Cup, much to the disappointment of Tara and Lily, who were cheering against James and Sirius. 

Finals approached and everyone started to study like crazy. As usual, Lily became a book worm trying to cram as much information in her head as possible, but she couldn't make herself care as much as usual. _What was the point?_ she thought. She had lost two of her closest friends. Even though Severus had hurt her very deeply, she knew that he didn't really mean what he had said. Everyday she promised herself that she would resolve the problem between them, but she couldn't quite get the courage to finally do it. She couldn't even think about becoming friends with James again while he had that stupid snitch, either, so she was stuck. 

Exams came as usual and Lily went through the motions of taking them. She tried her best but didn't really care how she had done. After her last test, Lily went out on the lawn, towards the lake, thinking. To her disgust, she saw a crowd around James and Sirius and someone they seemed to be picking on. Lily started running until she came to the scene. To her horror she realized that they had knocked Severus down and were jeering at him. 

"Leave him alone!" she screamed at James. "What has he ever done to you?" she questioned feeling tears form in her eyes. 

"It's more th fact that he exists..." James said with a laugh, "But I'll leave him alone if you go out with me, Lily." 

"I'd sooner go out with the Giant Squid than you," she said haughtily. "He'd probably be a better kisser anyway." 

Some people in the crowd laughed a little including Severus. 

"Bad luck Prongs," Sirius said. "Oy watch out!" 

But it was too late and Severus had created a large gash on James' face. In a flash Snape was upside down. Lily paused a minute in surprise. 

"Let him down," she said turning to James again. 

"Fine," James said putting him down, but Sirius cursed Snape again. 

Lily was appalled. She pulled out her wand. "Leave him alone!" she yelled. 

"Very well," James said, "you're lucky Lily was here for you Snivellus." 

"I don't need help from mudbloods like her," he sneered. 

"Fine, then I won't in the future," she snapped at Severus, hurt. "And change your pants," she said. She hated to see him like this, so uncaring about his appearance and his pride, not to mention calling her a mudblood. After a minute she added, "Snivellus" to the end of it. 

He glared at her as James sneered, "Apologize to her." 

"I don't want you to make him apologize...you're just as bad!" she yelled. 

"I would never call you a you-know what!" James said defensively. 

"It doesn't matter–you're so cocky with your stupid snitch. You don't care at all for others! Get away from me," she said stalking off, tears forming in her eyes. When she was a little farther away she turned around to see Tara yelling at James and Lucius, Crabbe, and Goyle helping Severus up. 

"YOU IDIOT!" she heard Tara yell and saw her pop him one in the jaw, say something to James that wasn't loud enough for Lily to hear, turn around to make sure Severus was alright and then stalk off with the four Slytherins. 

Lily ran to her dormitory and cried until she fell asleep. 

*** 

She woke to pounding on her dormitory door. 

"Let me in Lily!" shouted Tara's voice. 

Lily groaned. "What do you want?" 

"Come down to the common room," Tara yelled back. 

Grumbling, Lily got up and ran a brush through her hair before going to the common room which was empty except for Lucius and Tara. 

"What do you want?" asked Lily, yawning. 

"We decided," Tara said glancing at Lucius who looked as if he would rather be anywhere but there, "that you and Severus need to make up. It's making you and Severus sad and is just making life miserable for all concerned." 

She turned and looked expectantly at Lucius. 

"Um," he started, "yea, Sev's been pretty down and although you're just a m..." 

Tara elbowed him. 

"Muggle born, he for some reason thinks you're something special, no matter what he might say to you. He's been moping for months. Just apologize to him." 

"ME!? Apologize to him," she yelled, "after all he's done to me?" 

"I'm sure he'll apologize to you after," Tara pleaded. "Please? For me? You know you want to..." 

Lily was still mad beyond anything at Severus, but she missed him terribly. "I still think he should apologize first...I mean he..." 

"Called you a mudblood," Tara stated blandly. "Oh boo hoo. You insulted him, called him names and humilated him. I think you're more than even." Tara thought for a minute and then said, "I know he hurt you, hun, but please let's end this?" 

Lily felt a rush of anger come over her at this, but only, she realized, because Tara was right. They were more than even. Slowly she climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. Severus opened it and just stared at her blankly. 

Not knowing quite what to say, she followed her insticts and jumped into his arms crying, "Oh Severus, I'm so sorry! Will you please forgive me?" 

Severus was completely taken aback by this and stumbled a few paces backward under Lily's weight. He stood there for a second and Lily became worried. _What if he didn't forgive her?_ But then he put his arm around her and stroked the back of her head with his other hand. 

"Of course, Lil," he said quietly. "But only if you forgive me. I've been...terrible." 

"Of course I will," Lily said choking back tears and finally taking a step back from his embrace to look at his face. She smiled. "I've missed you." 

Just then Tara and Lucius walked into the room. 

"You've made up!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around both of them and motioned Lucius to join them. 

"Yea, it's a group hug, come on Lucius," Lily teased. 

"Um, no thanks," Lucius said backing quickly out of the room. "I"ll catch you later Sev..." 

All three of them burst out laughing. 

*** 

The end of the year seemed to come to quickly now that Lily was happy again. As usual, Lily and Tara sat by themselves on the train ride home, discussing life. 

"I wonder if James will ever get a clue?" Lily sighed. 

"I wonder if his bruise has healed yet," Tara laughed. 

Lily laughed back. "I wonder if we'll be prefects," she speculated after a moment. 

"I wonder if you two will ever shut up!" a boy yelled from across the aisle who was trying to sleep. It was Gilderoy Lockhart. 

Tara raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if people will ever start being nice to each other," she sighed. 

"Most likely not," Lily stated plainly. 

"That's a cheerful thought," Tara said sarcastically. 

Lily grinned. "I try," she said in a mock cheerful voice. 

There was a slight pause. 

"Do you think these are really the best years of our life, Lily?" Tara asked suddenly. 

"Why?" Lily asked. 

Tara smiled ruefully, "Because they haven't been very good lately." 

"No," Lily said, "that's probably a myth. The best years are probably when we are in our 20's," she said nodding sagely. 

"Of course when we're 20 and trying to get a job but failing, you'll wish you were back at Hogwarts." 

"Of course," Lily said grinning. 

And so the girls rambled on about life until the train reached the station.   



	13. Can Girls Play Quidditch?

(A/N) Ok so this is out pretty fast too! Wow huh? So enjoy and review, savvy? (Btw I do recommend Pirates of the Carribean–it's like the best movie ever—and both of the guys are dang fine...) Lol  
  
thanks to everyone who reviewed–and this story is not AU...*sighs* oh well...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter----etc. (or pirates of the Carribean for that matter although I wish I did...)  
  
  
Ch. 13 Can Girls Play Quidditch?  
  
To Lily's delight, Tara's family bought a summer home in Southern France and Tara was allowed to invite a group of friends to visit for a few weeks. Tara was able to invite four friends, and she chose Lily, Severus, Lucius, and Jessica.   
  
"We've become pretty good friends," Tara had explained to a flabbergasted Lily, "and I thought it would be an unique experience for her."  
  
And so the whole group arrived at the beautiful house by the beach on the first of July, each wondering if everyone would be able to get along together for the duration of the trip. It started off well with Lucius and Lily refraining from getting into any real conversations with each other and Severus and Jessica avoiding all unnecessary contact, and Tara in the middle thinking everyone was getting on quite well.  
  
The group spent their days at the beach, playing games or shopping, and at night they would usually go out to a nice dinner, Mr. Richards' treat, and then going off to bed, the girls sharing one huge room and the boys another. Lily was surprised at how well she was getting along with Jessica. The girl really had changed since being humbled and becoming friends with Lupin.  
  
"Can I ask you something Lily?" Jessica asked one night when the three girls were sitting in their room, talking.  
  
Lily nodded. "Sure," she said, wondering what Jessica could want to ask her.  
  
"Um, what do you think of Sirius? I mean, what's your opinion of his character?" she asked shakily.  
  
"Well," Lily started, "um...he was nice a few years ago. He really made me feel welcome at Hogwarts. He seemed honest...but lately he's been so cocky there's not speaking to him."  
  
Jessica laughed. "Yea I know what you mean. The trouble is...we're kind of...secretly going out, but I don't want to go out with someone if he's so rude to people. I mean the auditions for the ball were ridiculous...and the sad thing is he actually picked someone from them!"  
  
Tara and Lily exchanged shocked glances.   
  
"You're going out with Sirius?" Tara exclaimed. "Since when?"  
  
"Since a little after the ball," Jessica admitted. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but...Sirius was afraid that him having a girl friend would cause problems between him and James, and possibly him and Remus. I know Remy wouldn't have a problem though because he's like a brother to me."  
  
"Ah," Lily said, shocked. "Um, I thought you and...Remus were romantically involved."  
  
Jessica smiled. "No, we decided a while ago that we liked being just good friends."  
  
"So you've moved on to Sirius? Well, he is good looking...even though I'm probably not going to speak to him ever again," Tara stated blandly.  
  
"Why never again?" Jessica asked, confused.  
  
Tara laughed incredulously. "You didn't hear about the incident with Severus?" she asked.  
  
"No," Jessica faltered.  
  
"You don't want to know," Lily said quickly. She didn't like dwelling on that unpleasant event.  
  
Jessica looked from Lily to Tara and, realizing that they weren't going to say anything else, stated, "Well, I really like him...he's really sweet to me, and he's a good kisser."  
  
"Well...that was more than I wanted to know," Tara muttered, giving Jessica a surprised look.  
  
"Was Severus a good kisser?" Lily asked before she could stop herself.  
  
This time, Tara's surprised look turned on Lily, but Jessica answered, "I don't know, he never kissed me."  
  
"So I suppose I'm the only one here who's kissed Severus?" Tara asked with a wicked grin on her face.  
  
Lily turned a shocked look on Tara before she could add, "I'm JUST KIDDING, Lily, no need to have a heart attack. If I kiss Severus, believe me I'll tell you."  
  
"Good," Lily said coldly, giving her a fake glare.   
  
"So wait a minute, I'm confused," Jessica murmured, looking at Lily, "Who do you like? James or Severus?"  
  
When Lily didn't say anything, Tara chimed in. "Actually, I'm not really sure either, Lil...and I AM your best friend. You really should tell me..."  
  
"I plead the fifth," Lily said quietly.  
  
"What!?" Tara and Jessica asked together.  
  
Lily sighed softly. "Sorry, it's an American thing where you don't have to testify if you don't want to...I read it in a book..."  
  
"Well we're in France now, Lily dear, and besides we're all British so American rules don't apply...now answer!" Tara said grinning.  
  
"I'm not answering!" Lily proclaimed, sticking her nose in the air, defiantly.  
  
Tara looked at Lily for a moment then asked in a quiet, serious voice, "So then they're both fair game?"  
  
Lily glared at her then said, "Yes! Why would I care if you dated either one of them? And I didn't think you'd be going after James, Tara..."  
  
"Believe me, I'm not..." Tara started.  
  
"But it's nice to know we can..." Jessica finished, giggling.  
  
Tara grinned. "Exactly!"  
  
Lily felt herself become slightly sick to her stomach. "Um, I'm tired, could we go to sleep now?"  
  
Tara looked like she was trying to force herself not to laugh, but replied calmly after a moment, "Yea, I'm tired too. Good night Jes, Lil..."  
  
"Good night," Jessica replied.  
  
Lily didn't answer.  
  
***  
  
She didn't begin to regret having that conversation until midway through their last week when Lily began to regret having that conversation. Tara had been moving so slowly that Lily didn't notice it until it was too late. She had snared Severus.  
  
It all had begun with slight flirtation and spending more time with each other and by the time Lily noticed, they were holding hands and occasionally looking dreamily into each other's eyes. Lily felt sick. She tried to rationalize her sickness with various things like the heat, but she knew it wasn't that; she had lost Sevy to her best friend, and it had happened so quickly, in only a week or so.  
  
Because she didn't really know what to do about the situation, Lily completely ignored the situation, as did Lucius, although it was obvious to Lily that he felt awkward about it too. Jessica, however, started giggling randomly and whispering little things to Tara every once in a while.   
  
When the end of the week finally came, Lily was relieved. Perhaps this would all pass when they got back to school. Lucius looked equally relieved, although Lily couldn't see why he would be upset about the match.   
  
  
With about an hour before she was leaving, Lily decided that she had to at least ask Tara what was going on. She found her in her room all alone, luckily.  
  
"So, um, Tara, are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Severus?" Lily asked, timidly.  
  
Tara looked at Lily slightly surprised then replied, "Um, I will when there's something to tell, Lily. I do like him if that's what you mean, but you said he was fair game..." She added more slowly, "He is isn't he?"  
  
"Um, yea, sure Tara, why would I care about Severus that way?" Lily said, blushing.  
  
Tara rolled her eyes. "Lily...look, if you don't want me to go after Severus, I won't ok?"  
  
"I never said that, Tara, I'm sorry...you go after him," Lily said in her most convincing voice possible.  
  
"Right," Tara said slowly, "but you be sure to tell me if you do have a problem with it, because no guy is worth ruining a friendship over, right?"  
  
"Right," Lily replied smiling.  
  
"Have a good trip home, Lil," Tara said giving her a hug. "I'll miss you out here in France by myself. I honestly can't wait for school to start."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes this time. "Oh boo hoo! You HAVE to be in Southern France, oh no!"  
  
Tara giggled, and when Lily left the room she was happy, even though she didn't accomplish what she had gone in to do.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the summer flew by for Lily, as summers usually did. She spent her time hanging out with some of her old muggle friends and writing letters to her friends from school. Because she tried not to think about Tara and Severus being a couple, when Lily arrived on the Hogwarts Express she was only mildly surprised that Tara was sitting by herself.  
  
"Hey, Lil," she said waving her over to a seat. "Lucius insisted on speaking to Severus alone, so they're on a different car," she said, looking over her shoulder. "Who knows what evil plan they're coming up with?" Tara added grinning.  
  
Lily sat down next to Tara. "We're here again...it kind of feels like we never left," she said sighing slightly.  
  
"Was that a good sigh or a bad sigh?" Tara asked laughing.  
  
"Hmm...kind of both," she said grinning wryly. "I'm not excited about doing all of the homework..."  
  
"But, you are about trying out to be the Slytherin Quidditch Team's seeker, right?" Tara asked with a twinkle in her eye.  
  
Lily sighed. "Well, I'd like to try out, but I don't exactly have a broom, so that's a problem," she said glancing sideways at Tara.  
  
Tara looked like she was about to burst with excitement. "Well, that's why Luc, Sev, Jes, and I all chipped in and bought you the newest broom!" she said, grinning ear to ear.  
  
"What?!" Lily asked jumping out of her seat with excitement and giving Tara a hug. "But, wait a minute, you said Lucius helped buy me this?"  
  
"Well," Tara admitted, "it took a bit of persuasion, since he insisted girls couldn't play Quidditch, but he finally agreed..."  
  
Lily giggled, "Let me guess, YOU persuaded him."  
  
"Sev helped, too," she said indignantly, "and it's not as if the Malfoys ever have a shortage of money."  
  
"True," Lily consented. "So where is it? I hope I can do it...I mean, I've flown on a broom before, but I haven't had time to practice..."  
  
Tara scoffed, "Psh, Lily, you're right. I mean you were only the best in our whole flying class after all..."  
  
Lily glared at Tara. "Be nice! I'm nervous now that you guys have spent so much money on me!  
  
"Don't worry, Lily!" Tara assured her. "Besides, Sev will put in a good word for you."  
  
"Well, I suppose connections are always good in Slytherin...perhaps you could get Lucius to bribe the coach for me," Lily asked with a twinkle in her eye.  
  
Tara gave her a shocked look. "Well, I suppose I could..."  
  
"I'm just kidding!" Lily said, grinning.  
  
Raising her eyebrows Tara said, "Sure you are, Lily..."  
  
***  
  
When Lily walked out onto the Quidditch field, clutching her broom, however, she kind of wished Lucius had bribed the coach. The other people who had come to try out for Seeker were all boys, all older than her, and all from the best, richest pureblood families.  
  
She mounted her broom, and the team walked out onto the field led by Severus and Lucius.  
  
"The coach put us in charge of this tryout," Severus announced in a loud voice, holding a snitch high in the air, "so let's get started. Get the snitch..." and, with that, he released it.  
  
All of the contestants jumped into the air and started to fly around, madly looking for the snitch. To Lily's surprise, some of the contestants even ran into each other, being knocked off their brooms. She looked down, slightly amused, as all of the contestants but her were on the floor, engaged in an all-out brawl. Just as she looked back up again, she noticed that the snitch was hovering right in front of her nose. She grabbed it quickly and flew down to Severus.  
  
"I've got it," she announced simply.  
  
Severus grinned, looking proud. "We'll have to confer," he announced even though Lily was the only one listening.   
  
He then turned to Lucius and they walked away a few yards and began to talk very heatedly. Finally, she heard Severus shout, "Well I'm in charge anyway!", hex Lucius so he couldn't speak, and announce, "Lily's the new Seeker," triumphantly.  
  
Lily was elated. She knew it was a great advantage having one of her best friends choose the Seeker, but at the same time, she felt like she had actually deserved the position. Grinning, she ran over to Lucius and Severus.  
  
"Looks like girls can play Quidditch after all, doesn't it Lucius?" she said haughtily.  
  
Lucius still couldn't talk, but he glared at her, and then past her at the brawl. Finally, Severus released the hex and Lucius yelled, "Look at those idiots! You'd think they didn't want to win!"  
  
"Actually," said a voice, coming up behind them, "Slytherin Seeker tryouts are always like this. Usually it doesn't much matter, because everyone's involved in the brawl, but this year seems to be special."  
  
Lily looked past the two boys and saw a rather tall and forbidding looking man smiling down at them. It was the Slytherin coach.  
  
"Now, I can't say I was expecting a girl to get the part," he added, "but now that you have, Evans, I'm glad. You've shown you have the stuff to go far."  
  
Lily beamed back up at him. She was elated.  
  
***  
  
Lily's friends threw her a slight party that night in celebration of her new position. It was fun, even though Severus and Tara had only grown closer when school had started. The common rumor was that they were dating. Lily felt bad for secretly wishing that they'd break up.  
  
They drank butterbeer and ate chocolate frogs and talked for hours, until eventually everyone had to leave to go to bed and Severus and Lily were left alone in the common room.   
  
"Severus?" Lily started. She had been meaning to ask him something for a while but she didn't know if she could ever get up the courage.  
  
"Yea?" he answered, turning to look at her.  
  
Lily blushed. "Um, I hope you don't think this is too personal, and if it is, you don't have to answer it."  
  
Severus laughed. "Well, um, ok...I'll probably answer it. What are friends for?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure I want to ask it now," she said, sounding agonized.  
  
He made an exasperated sound. "Lily, you can't build up a question like that and then not ask it!"  
  
"Fine," she said slowly, "Do you love Tara?"  
  
Severus burst out laughing. "All that for this question? Yes, of course I love her."  
  
"You do?" she said quietly.  
  
"Sure," he said, sounding confused. "Just like I love you...and all of my friends."  
  
"I mean, are you in love with her?" she said, blushing more.  
  
"Oh," he said and stopped for a minute. "Well, to be honest, I don't know," he admitted.  
  
"Oh," she said.  
  
"Well," he tried to explain, "I mean, I don't know if I'm in love with her or if I love her...like I love Lucius..."  
  
Lily burst out laughing. "Well that's not very flattering to Tara, now is it?"  
  
Severus glared at her in mock anger. "You know what I mean!"  
  
Lily grinned. "Yea..." she said.  
  
"Well anyways, as fun as it is talking about who I do and do not love...I've got a test tomorrow in Defense Against the Dark Arts...good night Lily," he said standing up.  
  
"Good night, Sev," she said watching him go. She didn't want to go to bed yet; she wanted to think. She couldn't decide if Severus not loving Tara in a romantic sense was a good thing or not, after all he had said he loved Tara like he loved _her_.  
  
Just then, there came a knock on the common room door. Lily was surprised; it was Tara's secret knock. She went and opened it and a very upset looking Tara burst through the door, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Tara!" Lily exclaimed, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Shh..." Tara said looking apprehensively up at the boys' dormitory. "I don't want Sev or Luc to hear now, but I just had to tell you..." she said.  
  
"Well...what is it?" Lily asked apprensively.  
  
Tara took a shuddering breath to get control of her voice. "I...you...you know that my Dad's been doing a lot of business in Southern France, right?" she asked slowly.  
  
"Yea," Lily said, tension growing inside of her.  
  
"Well, his work has decided to transfer him there..." she said, tears beginning to come down her face again, "and the ministry has decided that I should go with my parents..."  
  
Lily nodded, "Well of course, but you could always come here for school."  
  
"No," Tara said, taking a deep breath again. "The ministry insists that because I live in France I have to go to Beauxbaxons...being in their boundaries and all...and...Lily–I have to leave Hogwarts!"  
  
  
(A/N) Sad huh?–sorry if this was frightfully confusing...or weirdly paced...I dunno–I wrote this in a daze–so sorry :-D  
  
Anyways please review and if you want to, vote on your favorite character...I'm curious.  
  
  
  
  



	14. Goodbyes

(A/N) 2 chapters in one day–I'm on a roll! Woohoo! That's why this is kinda short–and the fact that this is all I wanted to put in this chapter. Enjoy! Please Review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...  
  
Ch. 14 Goodbyes  
  
Tara waited a month before she made the bad news public. Despite all of Lily's ideas and letters to the ministry, Tara was still leaving the school for good at the beginning of Christmas break. Even though she was sad, Tara was determined to make the most of her time left at Hogwarts. She studied extra hard and attempted to become friends with the whole school, except for James and Sirius who she still avoided like the plague.   
  
Lucius responded to the news terribly at first, raving that he could get his father ot make the ministry change their minds. When a surprised Tara was able to calm him down, he began being extra nice to her and even civil to Lily while Tara was around. Severus was obviously very depressed about the news, but tried to forget about it. He seemed to be trying to enjoy the last few months with her.   
  
After bawling her eyes out when Tara had first told her, Lily began to be upbeat with the others. She would be very lonely without her, but it wasn't as if they would never see each other again.  
  
Lily was soon distracted by the upcoming Quidditch game. It was her first game and it happened to be against Gryffindor. She had to play against James, the best Seeker in the school. Severus and Lucius tried to calm her fears by assuring her that they could win even if James caught the snitch if she could hold him off long enough.  
  
This didn't comfort her enough, however, and it seemed as if she were in a haze as she walked out onto the field. She was clutching her broom so tight her arm was hurting. _ At least I have a better broom that James does_, she thought weakly.  
  
Minutes passed as she was inside her haze and the next thing she knew, she was in the air searching for a glimpse of the golden ball. Minutes that now felt like hours passed. She needed to find it. She flew over the field, scouring every corner of the stadium for any sign of the golden snitch.   
  
Just as she was about to panic, she saw hovering near the ground. Immediately, sh went into a power dive, but saw James diving after her. He was more experienced than she was and would most likely beat her. It didn't seem that he had seen the snitch, however, only the sight of her diving. Lily decided to take a chance.   
  
As fast as she could, Lily pulled out of the dive and changed directions. James saw her do this and tried to follow, but in the process, threw himself off balance and ended up hanging from his broom with one hand. While he was busy righting himself again, Lily took off once more, diving after the snitch that had only moved a few feet.   
  
Lily's hand closed around the snitch just as James managed to get back on his broom and realize what had happened. Everyone in the Slytherin side of the stands were cheering and screaming. Lily felt the rush of the applause and without realizing that she had even reached the ground, felt herself being carried off the field on the shoulders of her teammates.   
  
_I've beaten James and won the game, _she thought, but she didn't know which made her happier.  
  
***  
  
A few weeks after the game, a dark rumor began to be circulated throughout the school. There was apparently a wizard who hated muggles and was beginning to gain power. Some rumors even said that he felt that all muggles should be killed and wanted to take matters into his own hands.   
  
According to the rumors, this wizard Voldemort's beliefs were being published in pamphlets and were available to any pureblood who sought them out. Lily didn't really believe this rumor because she had never seen one of them, but still, the rumors were disconcerting.   
  
When James came up to her, looking concerned, however, she was surprised.  
  
"Lily, I know you're mad at me, but please hear me out," he begged, concern etched on his face.  
  
Lily looked at him without saying anything, but nodded slightly in surprise.  
  
"Thanks," he said. "I'm worried about you, Lily. I think your life is in danger. This ... Voldemort's ...followers could try to hurt you because you're...muggle born."  
  
Lily laughed slightly. "Thank you for your concern, James Potter, but I think I'm perfectly safe at Hogwarts. Besides, there are a lot of muggle borns here; why are you so worried about me?"  
  
"Because you're in Slytherin!" he exclaimed.   
  
"What's that got to do with anything?" Lily asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"That's where the beliefs of Voldemort are taking the most hold," he explained. "Think about it. They're all pure bloods and most of them hate muggle borns. Even Snape, who claims to be your friend, called you a mudblood," he rushed on, sounding more and more worried by the minute.  
  
"You don't know Severus!" Lily yelled at him. She was about to yell more, but when she looked at his face she saw that he was really concerned for her. Her expression and tone softened. "Look James, I know you don't believe it," she said slowly, "but I'm sure Severus would never let anyone hurt me."  
  
This didn't seem to make James feel any better, but he nodded. "Just take care of yourself, ok?" he said softly and, after she nodded, walked off down the hallway.  
  
***  
  
No matter how much Lily tried to pretend the fact that Tara had to leave wasn't true, the day finally came. Tara's friends decided to throw a huge all-night goodbye party for her, and the headmaster had even agreed to let them use the Great Hall and invite many students, as long as they were chaperoned.  
  
It was a grand party with tons of food and pumpkin juice, all of the students from Ravenclaw house, and many students from the three other houses. Tara had even allowed James and Sirius to be invited and said a friendly goodbye to them, but made it clear that the score between them still wasn't settled.  
  
Hours later, after drinking what seemed like gallons of pumpkin juice and eating all they could and more, all but five students returned to their dormitories to get some sleep. Tara headed off to the train platform with Lily, Severus, Lucius, and Jessica. They were going there to say their final goodbyes.   
  
On special request from Tara, Lily was allowed by the Head Master to accompany her on the train, but one friend was all they allowed.  
  
Tara said goodbye to Jessica first, giving her a small hug.   
  
"Thank you for being my friend," Jessica said, tears welling up in her eyes. "You've really helped me in my life...and were there for me, even though I was so rude to you years ago..."  
  
Tara smiled at her. "Don't mention it. You're a great person and it is an honor being your friend. Promise to keep in touch?"  
  
Jessica nodded and Tara moved on to Severus. She gave him a tight hug.  
  
"I'll miss you so much, Sevy," she cried.  
  
Severus sighed and whispered, "I'll miss you too, Tara. Life's not going to be the same here without you."  
  
"Promise to write to me?" Tara asked pulling back and smiling at him.  
  
"Of course," he said smiling back. He then did something that shocked and slightly horrified Lily. He pulled her closer to him and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips, which she returned. They pulled apart after a second and Tara smiled at him with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Take care of Lily for me, ok?" Tara asked him quietly.  
  
He nodded after a second and Tara walked off to Lucius. She gave him a small hug and then pulled back.  
  
"Will you be able to behave yourself while I'm not here?" she asked him, grinning.  
  
"Probably not, but then again, have I ever really behaved myself, Tara?" he asked with a wicked grin on his face. He then grabbed her and pulled her into a long passionate kiss. Everyone's eyes, including Tara's, widened in shock.   
  
When she finally was able to pull herself away from him, she asked in a breathless voice, "What was that all about?"  
  
He grinned at her again. "You're one of the prettiest girls in the school, you're from a good family, you're brilliant, funny, did I mention pretty? What more reason did I need?"  
  
"You know, if I wasn't leaving, I would have slapped you without asking why..." she said shaking her head slightly.  
  
He grinned his wicked grin again, "Why do you think I waited until now? Take care of yourself, beautiful."  
  
She looked at him a minute as if thinking of a proper response. "You too, Luc," Tara finally said wryly, taking a step towards the train.  
  
Lily shivered. That boy creeped her out.   
  
Tara then walked over to the train with Lily and waved to her friends and the school. "Good bye everyone!" she said loudly, and then added in a whisper, "Goodbye, Hogwarts." before turning away.  
  
***  
  
As soon as Tara sat down on the train, she said in between laughs, "Now don't freak out, Lily, but you did say you wanted me to tell you first. Severus kissed me."  
  
"I noticed," Lily said dryly.  
  
"Now don't be that way, Lily," Tara sighed. "You know he's yours. Always has been and probably always will be."  
  
Lily started in surprise. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Tara smiled ruefully. "Severus loves me as a friend, no more. That kiss was just a friendly kiss. I realized a little while ago that he is yours...he loves you...and I hope you'll be very happy together," she finished with a flourish before adding quickly, "Oh and I want to be a bridesmaid by the way!"  
  
Lily laughed. "What? A bridesmaid? Tara, you're insane!"  
  
"Maybe, Lily, but I hope I'm right about this," she grinned. "I was right about Remus, after all. Besides, I can't think of anything better than me being right this time."  
  
"What about you?" Lily asked, incredulously. "I thought you liked Severus?"  
  
"I'll get over it," Tara said sighing slightly. "Besides you two are much better for each other. I'm moving to France anyways; I'm sure I can pick up a French hottie. Even if that doesn't work out, I guess Lucius is interested..." she broke off in a fit of laughter.  
  
"I swear, I've never been so shocked in my whole life," Lily said giggling back.  
  
"_You've_ never been so shocked? How do you think _I _felt?" she asked.   
  
She sat there thinking for a moment as their laughter subsided. "He's a strange boy," Tara said softly. "He has good in him, but I worry for him. I hope Severus will be able to keep him out of trouble."  
  
"Or Lucius will drag Sev into trouble with him," Lily said slowly.  
  
Tara looked at Lily for a moment. "Now that's what I'm counting on you for," she pleaded, sounding serious. "Make sure those boys don't kill themselves, won't you?"  
  
"I'll do my best, but I make no guarantees," Lily said giggling.  
  
Eventually, the train arrived at the station, and Lily helped Tara get her trunk.  
  
"You're the best friend ever, Lily!" Tara said giving Lily a hug.  
  
"No, you are!" Lily said, trying to keep herself rom crying.  
  
Tara laughed. "Now we can't start fighting at a time like this!"   
  
"Ok," Lily said, laughing back, "We'll just agree that we're both great friends..."  
  
Tara grinned, but then sighed. "Lily, you better write me every day and tell me all the news because I'm sure the boys will forget!"  
  
"I will!" Lily promised.  
  
"Everything!" she continued. "Even if it seems unimportant to you...I want to know!"  
  
Lily giggled. "I'll even tell you what I had for breakfast."  
  
"Especially that," Tara said laughing back.  
  
Just then, a porter came and picked up her trunk.   
  
"Better hurry, Miss, you have to catch the next train."  
  
"Ok, thanks," Tara said quietly, taking a step towards him.  
  
"Bye, Lily," Tara said, one last time.  
  
"Bye, Tara," Lily said, trying to smile.  
  
Tara looked back one last time before she disappeared into the crowd.  
  
(A/N) Exit Tara, my only character...lol 


	15. Is Change Really Good?

Ch. 15 Is Change Really Good?  
  
(A/N) Holy cow I finally did it–well enjoy–maybe...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...or it's characters  
  
For Christmas, Lily and Severus decided to stay at school while Lucius went home. Even though he didn't say so, Lily suspected that Severus was staying at school because of his parent's problems. Lily didn't mind him being there at all, though. They had fun by themselves, enjoying the holidays.  
  
It seemed like life was going great until Christmas Eve. When Lily went into her dormitory that night, she found all of the occupant girls sitting in a tight cluster discussing something. When they noticed Lily, they hid what looked like a cluster of papers in a drawer and feigned innocence.  
  
"Um, hi guys," Lily said, trying to break the awkward silence. When no one answered, she added, "So...what are you guys up to?"  
  
One of the nicer girls in her dormitory named Adrienne stood up and walked over to sit on her own bed. "Um, nothing Lily...how are you?" she said, brushing her reddish-brown hair out of her face and giving her a half smile.  
  
Before Lily could answer, the girl who had gone out with Goyle said in a loud, annoyed voice, "We weren't doing nothing, Adrienne, we were having an important discussion! This mudblood can just go away and leave us alone!"  
  
Adrienne glanced warily from Lily to the girl. "Jenny, that was uncalled for..." she said softly.  
  
"It was not! Especially with this new...news we've received," Jenny protested, giving Adrienne a meaningful look.  
  
Standing up and moving towards Lily, Adrienne looked like she was preparing to fight a war. "That news..." she said, her voice gaining in strength, "isn't right, and you know it!"  
  
Jenny snorted. "I'm surprised at you, Adrienne! Too bad...I thought you were all right...but I suppose we could kill you and the mudblood easily enough..." she ended with a smirk.  
  
Adrienne laughed, getting out her wand. "I'd like to see you try," she said, "especially since my dad is your dad's boss..."  
  
Jenny's smile disappeared at this, but returned after a moment. "Your dad supports _him_ even if you don't...he might have a problem with us hurting you, but he certainly won't if we knock this mudblood off and make it look like an accident."  
  
Through this conversation, Lily stood near the door, becoming more horrified by the moment. _Him? They must mean Voldemort_... she thought. The rumors were real!  
  
"You'll have to go through me," Adrienne said coldly. "Besides, I'm sure some of you will help me..." she said looking expectantly at the cluster of girls, but none of them moved. "Fine," she said after a minute. "I'll find someone sane enough to know right from wrong elsewhere."  
  
With that, she grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her out of the room, slamming the door behind them.  
  
"The rumors are true then," Lily gasped out.  
  
Adrienne nodded bleakly. "Yea, too true. Some people are getting so caught up I this new...doctrine." She paused for a moment. "I can't believe Liz didn't say anything. She knows it's wrong too, but she's too scared to stand up to Jenny."  
  
"Thanks for what you did," Lily said, looking at Adrienne. "Who knows what they would've done to me..."  
  
"Probably nothing today...Jenny is all talk, but I'm still worried," she said, going down to the common room. "His beliefs are gaining strength–eventually one of the fanatics might decide to do something drastic."  
  
Just then, Adrienne realized Severus was seated in a corner. He had been reading, but had stopped when he heard voices.  
  
"What's going on?" Severus asked, sounding very worried.  
  
Adrienne sighed. "Jenny's causing problems again," she said. "I think it's best if Lily didn't sleep in there tonight..."  
  
Severus made an angry sound in the back of his throat. "Jenny's been going too far lately," he said angrily. He then turned his attention to Lily and his tone softened. "It's ok, Lil, we can get some pillows and blankets and you can sleep on the couch."  
  
Adrienne looked up at the girls' dormitory door apprehensively. "Is it ok if you get the blankets from somewhere else? I was going to make myself scarce for a few hours..."  
  
"Yea, it's ok. I'll get some from mine," he said, starting for the boys' dormitory. "Thanks, Adi," he said sincerely.  
  
Adrienne smiled wryly. "I don't know how much longer I can hold them off...but I'll try," she said before going out into the hallway.  
  
Severus returned a few seconds with a few plain green blankets and a pillow with teddy bears all over it. He smirked, "It's Luc's...who would've guessed, huh?"  
  
Lily grinned back. "Thanks, Sev" she said, helping him spread them out on the couch.  
  
"No problem," he answered. "You ok?" he asked with concern.  
  
Lily nodded slightly. "Yea, I'm a bit scared, but I'll be ok."  
  
They both sat down on the couch and he put his arm around her. "Don't worry, Lil, I won't let anyone hurt you."  
  
She sighed and put her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Sevy," she said, smiling a little and then looked at her watch. It was after midnight. "Happy Christmas," she said, stifling a yawn.  
  
"Is it that late already?" Severus asked in surprise. "You need to get to bed or Father Christmas won't come..." he said teasingly as he stood up.  
  
Lily grinned and laid down, wrapping herself in the covers. When Severus was about to go up to his dormitory, Lily said in a small voice, "Sev...please, could you sit with me awhile? I know it's silly, but I'm...scared."  
  
Severus stopped in his tracks and walked back to sit in an arm chair next to the couch. "It's not silly, Lil..." he said sinking into the chair, "sure I will."  
  
"Thanks," Lily said, snuggling under her blankets.  
  
After a minute of sitting in silence, Severus said in a joking voice, "You don't want me to sing you to sleep or anything, do you? Because I don't sing all that well..."  
  
Lily laughed. "No, just being here is more than good enough."  
  
"Good," he said laughing back.  
  
***  
  
Lily woke up by the noise of an owl dropping packages on the floor next to her. She sat up quickly and looked around. Severus was still sitting in the arm chair. He seemed to be just waking up, moving his neck gingerly.  
  
"Ouch," he groaned.  
  
"You stayed there all night?" Lily asked, amazed?  
  
He smiled. "Yea, what kind of guard would I be if I left? I was trying to stay awake too, but that obviously didn't work."  
  
Lily jumped out of bed and gave him a big hug. "Thanks, Sev," she said. "That...really means a lot to me..."  
  
"Ouch," he groaned again.  
  
"Oh," Lily said, jumping off of him again. "Sorry."  
  
He laughed. "It's ok. Happy Christmas Lily!" he said, standing up.  
  
"Happy Christmas!" she replied, walking over to her presents and grabbing the first one.  
  
Severus grabbed his first gift as well, and they began ripping them open.   
  
Lily got a beret, a necklace, and a bunch of pictures of cute French men from Tara, a broken quill from Lucius, which actually exceeded her expectations, and a box of assorted candy with a lengthy note from Sirius attached from Lupin, Sirius, and Peter. She then came to a huge box of roses. _Who could these be from?_ she wondered. She opened and read the attached letter.  
  
Dear Lily,  
I am so sorry for behaving like a complete idiot for the past few years. I know I have no right asking you this, but could you please find it in you to forgive me? I've missed you so much as a friend. I also am worried sick for you. The rumors of Voldemort are increasing. I'm worried that you will be hurt in some way.  
  
Please, please Lily, forgive me for being an idiot. Name your price...Tara already has told me what I have to do before I will have her trust again...What do you want? Please give me another chance!  
  
Yours always,  
  
James   
  
Lily sat there for a moment after closing the box to hide them from Severus, thinking. She missed James, but could she ever fully trust him again? What was Tara's price she had demanded?  
  
She was snapped out of her thoughts by Severus saying expectantly, "Hurry, Lily, you still haven't opened the best one!"  
  
Lily looked down and saw an envelope lying on the ground with "To Lily" written in Severus' handwriting on it.  
  
She snatched it up and opened it quickly. It was a ticket to France.   
  
"So you can go visit Tara this summer," he explained, smiling.  
  
Lily's parents had had to really save to send Lily to Tara's house last summer, so she had been sure she wouldn't be able to go this year.  
  
  
"Thanks, Sev! This is the best!" she said, giving Severus another big hug.  
  
"Glad you like it," he said slightly out of breath. "Thanks for the glasses by the way..."  
  
Lily smiled. "I'm glad you liked them. I didn't really know what to get you..."  
  
The glasses were magic, of course, allowing the wearer to see the exact location of a lost object.  
  
"They're perfect," he said grinning.  
  
The rest of Christmas was wonderful, with the exception of the glares she got from some of the Slytherin girls. She had read Sirius' letter. It had contained an apology similar to James', except it said that if he didn't forgive him, at least to forgive James. "It's killing him!" the letter had said. Lily sighed. She didn't really know what to do.  
  
Finally, she got out two pieces of parchment, and wrote a very simple message on the front of each.  
  
I suppose...  
Lily  
***  
  
For the next few nights, Lily continued to sleep on the couch in the common room, even though she assured Severus it was ok if he slept in his dormitory. He said ok, but only after saying he would come check on her every few hours.   
  
After Christmas break ended, however, it became more awkward to sleep in the middle of the common room. People started to spread rumors about why she couldn't sleep in her dormitory. It eventually got back to the headmaster, apparently, since he called her into his office one afternoon.  
  
When she entered the room she noticed that James, Sirius, and Lupin had come as well. She gave them a confused, half smile.  
  
"Sit down, Miss Evans," the headmaster said.  
  
She took a seat and nervously looked up at him.  
  
"I've been hearing some disturbing rumors of death threats...against you...in your own house," he said quietly. "Is this true?"  
  
She took a deep breath and then answered, "Well, yes sir, but..."  
  
"This is serious, indeed," the headmaster interrupted her. "I didn't know the teachings of Voldemort had penetrated so deeply in my school...the question is, what is to be done?"  
  
James spoke up at this. "She can't stay there...it's too dangerous. She needs to be moved to another house."  
  
"Another house?" the headmaster mused, "unheard of in other times..."  
  
"As is putting a muggle born in Slytherin," came a voice from the corner. The sorting hat was speaking.  
  
The headmaster turned his head curiously and said, "What?"  
  
"I bet that old coot Slytherin was turning in his grave when I put Lily Evans in Slytherin five years ago..." the sorting hat continued. "But, what did he know. It was the best place at the time for her. Now, I'm not sure." The hat stopped.  
  
"Are you going to tell me your reasoning or are you going to leave us in suspense?" the headmaster said dryly.  
  
The sorting hat looked like it was thinking deeply. "In some ways, to change her would be best, but there's no way to know for sure. Put me on her head, perhaps that would help."  
  
The headmaster placed the hat on her head and it continued to speak. "Oh, yes, moving her to Gryffindor would be the safest course of action for this young lady, but the question is, does she want to go? She has at least one friend there whom she is very close to. But, is risking her life worth being with this friend? Hmm...interesting...what do you think, Lily?"  
  
"I don't want to leave Severus," she said determinedly, but then her voice grew quieter, "but, I can't keep sleeping on the couch forever..."  
  
"That settles it!" James jumped in. "She's moving to Gryffindor..."  
  
"Wait a minute, young man," the headmaster said, turning to face him. "I suppose you think you three will be able to protect her better if she changes houses?"  
  
James nodded. "Yes, we will."  
  
The headmaster thought over this carefully. "What will happen when you three graduate, though? Will she still be safe?"  
  
"I'm sure there are other people in Gryffindor who will take care of her..." Sirius started.  
  
"But, she doesn't really have any friends in her own year," Lupin finished.  
  
The headmaster nodded and thought for a long while. "Alright," he said after a minute. "I've decided. Lily, I have every faith in you as an intelligent young woman. That is why I've decided to skip you ahead a year. This should help with your protection, seeing as you have good, loyal friends in Slytherin and Gryffindor of that year, which is truly an amazing feat. Also, since you cannot continue to sleep on the couch, I do find it necessary to change you into Gryffindor house."  
  
James cheered, but Lily sat quietly, thinking.   
  
"Ok," she said quietly. She felt funny. All house pride seemed to be being stripped away from her. Also, she was sure she would have to do lots of work over the summer to be able to skip a grade. Most importantly, however, _how would Severus take this?_  
  
She continued to think of this question through the rest of her meeting with the headmaster. In a daze, she walked through the hallway to her house to tell Severus.  
  
Apparently news traveled fast and people knew what her meeting had been about, so Severus was waiting for her at the door.  
  
"So, what'd he do, give you your own room?" Severus burst out as soon as she entered the room.  
  
"No," Lily said in a small voice.  
  
Severus looked at her expectantly, but she didn't continue.   
  
"What did he do then?" he asked.  
  
"He...skipped me ahead a year and...and...switched which house I'm in...I'm in Gryffindor now," she rushed out.  
  
Severus looked livid. "WHAT? He can't do this without asking your opinion! After all, it's your life and all..."  
  
Lily felt miserable. "He did ask me my opinion," she said quietly. "But...I didn't really have a choice..."  
  
Severus' face turned deathly white. "You told him you wanted to change houses?" he whispered.  
  
"Well, not in so many words. I don't want to be a Gryffindor, Sev, really I don't!" she yelled out desperately.  
  
"Sure you don't! You don't want to be in with James...did you think I didn't see those roses he sent you? So you're leaving me all alone! All alone with Lucius who keeps breathing down my neck about joining the muggle haters? Thanks a lot Lily. That sure repays me for our years of friendship," he ranted.  
  
  
"No...Severus, please listen to me!" she cried out.  
  
"I'll get your trunk," he said coldly, walking over to where Adrienne had put it in the common room so she could get to her stuff while sleeping there. He brought it over along with all of her stuff and hauled them out of the common room, all without looking at her.  
  
"Severus..." she started.  
  
"No, don't worry about me..." he said cruelly. "Go off with your James now Lily. I hope you're happy together," he spat before returning to the common room and slamming the door behind him.  
  
It was then that Lily started to cry. She knew most of the Slytherins hated her, but it had been her home for the past five years. She had lost her home, but worst of all she had lost Severus.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the year was awful for Lily. Because she was not in Slytherin anymore, she lost her place on the Quidditch team. She tried to get contact with Severus to explain, but he always avoided her. She tried to get into the Slytherin common room, but they had changed the password since she'd left. O.W.L.S. seemed of little importance to her at the moment, but she studied to take her mind off of her problems.  
  
Her relationship with James and Sirius had almost healed completely. That was the only plus of the situation for her. She didn't think it was worth all that she had felt she had lost.  
  
She was thrilled when the end of the year came, meaning summer was there and it was almost time to go visit Tara. Tara would give her advice. Tara would help her through this...she hoped.  
  
(A/N) OK HAPPY EVERYONE? SEE–THERE–it almost KILLED me–but THERE–it works with the books...well pretty much–  
  
anyways–hope that (A/N) didn't sound too bitter...rofl  
  
:) review sil vous plait  
  
  
  
  



	16. Unwanted

Ch. 16 Unwanted  
  
(A/N) Ah Ah Ah!!!!! Erm...Ok I'm better now...please r/r–enjoy...lol something big happens in this chapter–well I think it's big  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or it's characters :D  
  
Lily and Tara sat on the beach, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was the end of June, and the sun was just beginning to set. The girls weren't really noticing the scenery, however.  
  
"So, that's how it happened," Lily finished her story sounding miserable.  
  
Tara sighed. "Sounds messy," she said finally. "If I were there you could've just come into Ravenclaw...that probably would've helped a bit. I have a feeling Severus wouldn't have as big of a problem with this if James wasn't in Gryffindor."  
  
"But," Lily said slowly, "his main complaint seemed to be me leaving him alone..."  
  
"True, but he probably wouldn't feel so alone if you weren't going off with your other group..." Tara contemplated. At Lily's hurt look Tara added, "I know none of this is your fault, Lily...I in no way blame you. I'm just trying to understand his reasoning. Have you tried writing him?"  
  
Lily laughed. "Only every day this summer, but the letters are always returned, unopened."  
  
"Trust him to sulk like a two year old," Tara said, rolling her eyes. "He'll hopefully get over it when he realizes how much he misses you."  
  
They sat there in silence for a minute.  
  
"Or perhaps," Tara said brightly, "he isn't getting your letters...maybe he's gone somewhere where your owl can't find him and..."  
  
Lily looked at her, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Ok, fine, I was just trying to be upbeat!" she said defensively. After a minute more of silent thinking she added again, "But please, Lily, don't give up on him. Keep trying and he'll cave. And PLEASE for goodness sake don't fall for that idiot James."  
  
"What?" Lily said at the last comment. "First of all he's not an idiot, I think he's really changed, and second what makes you think I'd fall for him."  
  
"Psh you've already fallen for him!" Tara said sounding hurt.  
  
Lily laughed. "I have not Tara; don't jump to conclusions."  
  
"It's hard not to when you're pushing me so hard..." Tara said dryly.  
  
"Lets talk about something else..." Lily said, trying to sound nonchalant.  
  
Tara smirked. "Ok, but let me have my final say on the matter. I want to be a bridesmaid at your and SEV's wedding, I'll even be a bridesmaid if you marry someone like...Sirius...I suppose...but if you marry James...well ok I'll still be a bridesmaid but I'll be VERY PUT OUT! Got it?" she finished, the beginnings of a smile on her mouth.  
  
"Got it," Lily said grinning. "Although, it might be a while before you get to be the bridesmaid...and isn't it customary for the bride to ask the bridesmaid–not for the bridesmaid to declare herself one?"  
  
"I'm starting a new tradition," Tara said laughing.   
  
***  
  
After leaving France in the middle of July, Lily was forced to get down to work. She had piles and piles of summer homework to do to be able to skip a grade. Even if she did manage to get it all done, she knew it would still be a difficult feat. When she got to her potions homework, she sighed. It wasn't her best subject, and she usually depended on Severus to help her. _ I guess I'll have to figure it out by myself this time,_ she thought glumly.  
  
Days later, she had only managed to get one potion down completely. _I hope he's happy,_ she thought to herself, _because he's making my life extremely difficult!_  
  
"Lily, honey," her mother called up at her, "an owl just arrived with a very official letter for you..."  
  
Lily looked up, confused. Who would send her mail? Perhaps it was only the school list. She ran down the stairs and grabbed the letter from her mom. She read it aloud:  
  
Dear Miss Evans,  
Congratulations! You have been selected as Head Girl for this year at Hogwarts. This is a great honor, and we have every faith in you to carry out your responsibilities and we're sure you will exceed even our expectations. The Head Boy is James Potter, and we hope that you two will be able to work together this following year.  
Congratulations again,  
The Administration of Hogwarts  
  
Lily couldn't believe the news. She had just skipped a grade and had a lot of work to make up; she certainly hadn't expected to be made Head Girl as well. Her mother was elated at the news, but Lily just stood there numbly for a moment. James was head boy? Severus must not have done as well on his O.W.L.S. as he had hoped.   
  
***  
  
The first day of school was a strange on for Lily. She rode on the train with James and company, talking as if they had never had a two year rift between them. The feast was terrible. She got bad looks from the Gryffindors because she was formerly a Slytherin and she got glares from almost everyone at the Slytherin table for her treachery. Severus, however, didn't even glance at her.  
  
Moving into her new Gryffindor room was also a painful experience for her. Some people were friendly to her because of James, but Lily still didn't feel welcome.  
  
James tried to make it better by giving her presents, but it didn't cheer Lily up much. She loved being with the "marauders," but she missed her old life. She wrote Tara everyday as promised and even thought of writing Severus, but didn't.  
  
When the Gryffindor Quidditch Team tryouts came up, James saw his opportunity to make Lily happy.  
  
"Um, Lily," he said one day at breakfast.  
  
"Yea," she said between sips of orange juice.  
  
He cleared his throat. "Well, Quidditch Tryouts are in a few days, and there's a position open for Chaser and..."  
  
"But I've only played Seeker..." Lily interrupted.  
  
"You'd be a great Chaser, Lily! Besides, it would cheer you up!" he argued.  
  
Lily sighed. "James, playing Quidditch isn't going to solve my problems," she said, glancing towards Severus.  
  
"It'll at least distract you from them, though," James said, uneasily following her gaze. "Besides, Lily, if Sniv..." he cut off at her glare and started again. "If Snape is stupid enough to be mad at you like this, why do you care if he is your friend or not?"  
  
"That's what I've been asking myself," she said quietly.  
  
After a minute of silence, James tried yet again, "So, will you try out?"  
  
"Oh, I suppose!" Lily said in defeat.  
  
"Good," James said, smiling.  
  
***  
  
To Lily's great surprise, she was rather good at the Chaser position and made the team with ease. The day of the first game, however, she felt as sick as she had the year before at the game against Gryffindor. She walked out shakily, trying to clear her head as she prepared for the game against her old team, Slytherin.  
  
Severus led his team onto the field. He was again wearing his hair loose and in his face. Their eyes caught for a moment, and in them she saw anger and pain.  
  
The whistle blew just as thunder rolled in the distance. The sky was almost completely black with clouds. Slytherin had the ball first, but didn't score. Sirius picked up the ball and Lily flew in the other direction, towards their goal.  
  
"Lily, here!" Sirius called, throwing the ball to her.  
  
Lily caught it just as she felt it begin to rain. She turned and found herself face to face with Severus. They just stared at each other for a minute, and Lily felt tears come to her eyes.  
  
"Scared, Evans?" he sneered.  
  
"Never, Sevy baby," she said, trying a tactic Tara used sometimes when trying to get on someone's good side. "Even though your hair has seen better days," she finished with a smirk.  
  
"Stop it, Li..." His face had almost changed to a smile, but he stopped it. "Evans," he finished.  
  
It was then that Lily got a bludger to the stomach, dropped the ball, and went spinning off. When Lily finally got control of her broom, she looked up and saw Lucius talking to Severus, waving his stick.  
  
_So Lucius had hit the bludger at me,_ she thought, unsurprised.  
  
Lightning struck and it began to pour. The whistle blew twice, and Lily came thankfully to the ground.  
  
The referee started yelling, "Due to the unfortunate weather conditions, we have decided to postpone the game until a later date." Lightning struck again, very near the school this time and the referee continued, "All students, please proceed to the school."  
  
Everyone in the stands headed for the school. Instead of going to the Slytherin locker room, Lily saw Severus head for the school. Lily followed him.  
  
Just when Lily was about to admit to herself that she had lost him, she found Severus walking down a deserted hallway.  
  
"Severus...Stop!" she yelled at him.  
  
Without breaking stride he yelled back, "Go away, Lily!"  
  
"Well at least you're calling me by my first name again," she said, running after him.  
  
"I said go away!" he said, half looking over his shoulder.  
  
Catching up, Lily grabbed his arm. "No, Severus! We need to talk. How come you didn't answer...or even open my letters I sent you this summer?"  
  
He stared straight in the opposite direction of her, but he answered softly, "It would only have put you in danger."  
  
Lily laughed incredulously. "Danger? From who?"  
  
"You have no idea," he said, shrugging her off and continuing down the hallway.  
  
"No you don't!" Lily said, grabbing his sleeve in her hand. The sleeve ripped, revealing a strange tattoo on his arm.  
  
Lily shrank back a few paces whispering, "The...the darkmark...the sign of Voldemort...isn't it? Severus..."  
  
Lily watched as a shiver seemed to go through Severus' whole body. "You...you...I tried to make it so you wouldn't ever find out about this," he started in a whisper, but got progressively louder until he was almost shouting. "But you..." he turned his head, finally, and looked into her eyes. "You had to follow me and write to me and snoop...and care...and..." he stopped, his head sagging against his chest in exhaustion.  
  
"Severus..." Lily whispered again, "Why?"  
  
"You left me alone," he cried out hoarsely. "Alone with Lucius...and my parents pressuring me until I couldn't take it anymore..."  
  
"You had Adrienne," Lily said slowly.  
  
Severus laughed. "She's only one person, and she spends most of her time hiding out now anyways."  
  
"But, I'm only one person, too, Severus..." Lily protested.  
  
"But...you...you were more than that to me..." he stammered.  
  
Lily stood there for a moment shivering and his tense face softened. "It's not your fault, Lily, I'm sorry...I shouldn't blame you. But...but you weren't supposed to know...and...and there's no way out now."  
  
"But, Sev..." Lily said tears in her eyes.  
  
"Go, Lily, leave. It's better if we never see each other again. Goodbye, Lily," he said turning away from her again.  
  
"But, Severus..." Lily said again.  
  
Severus sighed. "Please, Lily. It'll make it easier for me, I promise. Please, Lily, just leave me...just go!"  
  
"Ok," she said finally. "Goodbye Severus," she whispered, turning to walk out of the hallway. Once she was out of sight of Severus, she broke into a run, running all the way back to her room, crying.  
  
(A/N) ok I've had that scene planned from like the beginning, but it wasn't planned for this chapter–I skipped it ahead one because I was bored. I guess I'll tell you there are only 4 more chapters after this one...and a small possible epilogue if you want it.   
  
Please review...thank you to all of my reviewers yet again–you guys are the best :)  
  
  
  
  



	17. A Perfect LifeAlmost

Ch. 17 A perfect life...almost  
  
(A/N) well ok so this is a pathetic chapter–*grin* erm I mean...enjoy Thanks to all of my reviewers and...(I don't write notes to all y'all because I'm afraid of missing someone...) But, I'll answer the questions I remember...Yes they are in 7th year, and this story was much more original when I started it 2 years ago. It's also an attempt at a non-AU Lily in Slytherin story–so that's why she changed houses.   
  
Sorry if I missed any questions (it's 1 AM and I have work tomorrow...)  
  
  
Lily thankfully did not meet anyone she knew on her wild flight from the hallway. The Gryffindor common room was empty since everyone had gone to dinner. When she got to her room, she was about to throw herself on her bed when she realized there was a box of chocolates and flowers on her bed. She sat next to them and opened the accompanying note.  
  
Dear Lily,  
It read,  
  
I hope you're doing alright; you ran off right after the game, so I couldn't talk to you. Were you hurt by the bludger? It must have been a horrible experience playing against your former team members and your former friend, Snape. I'm sure the next game will be much better for you.  
Anyways, I hope you're alright.  
Yours,  
James  
  
Lily smiled slightly. _ How thoughtful of him_, she thought. She sat down on her bed munching on a chocolate as the reality of the situation with Severus crashed down on her. He was a death eater, or at least that's what she thought they were called.   
  
He didn't seem to want to be a death eater, though. They want to kill all muggles and probably mudbloods, too. Severus didn't seem to want to kill her...he seemed to still like her as always. That thought brought a strange kind of comfort to her.   
  
_I__t was nothing personal_, she thought before adding bitterly, _he's just a member of a psycho organization who believes in killing innocent people._  
  
Hot tears again came to her eyes again. What was she going to do? She couldn't ask her Gryffindor friends for advice. If they even suspected the truth about Severus, they would turn him in for sure.   
  
In a flash she knew what to do. She would write to Tara for advice. Tara loved Severus too, and would have ideas for how to help him. Grabbing a quill and parchment, she ran down to the common room and seated herself in a secluded corner. She couldn't stand being locked up in her stuffy room anymore at a time like this.  
  
She began:  
  
Dear Tara,  
Disaster has struck once again in my life, and I don't know what to do. Severus is a death eater. It is obvious he doesn't want to be one anymore, but there doesn't seem to be any way out. He said we can't speak anymore; it'd only endanger me, so he claims. Help Tara!!!! What can I do? Write back as soon as possible...  
  
Just then she heard James and Sirius talking behind her.  
  
"Oi, here she is," Sirius said cheerfully. "Writing some secrets to Tara, no doubt..."  
  
Lily quickly added,   
  
Love,  
Lily  
  
to her note and then turned to face the boys.  
  
"Oh yes," she said teasingly, trying to sound nonchalant and hoping that no one noticed that she had been crying. "I'm telling her juicy secrets about both of you, and of course lots about other people..."  
  
"Let me see it the," James said smiling and trying to grab it.  
  
"I was just kidding, James," Lily said, barely moving in time to stop him from getting the letter. "There's nothing that interesting in it, and besides, it's my letter to Tara–you have no right reading it." She tried to keep calm and act as if she didn't really care, but even she could hear the panic rise in her voice.   
  
Sirius gave her a sideways glance, but said softly, "It's ok, Lily, I'm sure James wasn't really going to read it. We should probably go and let Lily finish her letter," he said turning to James, "besides I've got to go and meet Jes..."  
  
James, however, wouldn't be put off that easily. "You go ahead; I want to talk to Lily."  
  
"Ok," Sirius said slowly, casting a slightly worried glance back at the two before he left.  
  
As Lily sat watching Sirius leave, James saw his chance and grabbed the letter quickly. Lily made a wild lunge at James and got the note back after a slight struggle. "_How much of the letter had James read_?" she thought desperately. She pulled out her wand to keep James at bay.  
  
"How much did you see?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"Enough," James said angrily with wide eyes. "I saw Severus and deatheater in the same sentence. Lily, what's going on?!"   
  
Lily took a deep breath. At least he hadn't had time to read it, only glance at the words. "Um," Lily said, thinking quickly, "Sev's getting a lot of pressure to become a deatheater from...from some of his friends. Poor boy, I hope he'll be all right." Lily finished feeling proud of herself. She hadn't lied, just omitted certain details James didn't need to know.  
  
"Oh," James said slowly. "I'm not going to ask you how you know this; I trust you not to believe rumors, especially not about Sniv...Snape. I mean you wouldn't believe one bad thing about him if his own mother told it to you. I think we should report this, though. Snape's a shady character no matter what you think, and..."  
  
"No!" Lily almost shouted in panic. "Please, James, don't tell anyone, please! Not even Sirius! Sev's not a bad person...you have to believe me...I beg you, James...please?"  
  
James stood there in silence for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Fine, Lily, but be careful ok? And..." he added, sounding somewhat cold, "you can tell Tara that we're even now..." He shook his head and turned to walk out of the room muttering, "Thing's I'll do for a woman..."  
  
Lily took a deep breath after the door closed behind him. That had been way too close. She took out her letter and added:  
  
P.S. James grabbed this letter from me and saw Severus and Deatheater in the same sentence before I could get it back. (For once I'm glad my cursive is hard to read.) I had to do some really fast talking, but now James believes he's just getting pressured from his friends to join. I made him promise not tell anyone, but he only agreed after I begged him. After promising, he said to write you and tell you that you two were even now. What exactly were the terms you set to him, by the way? Anyways, I'm not going to write anymore to you because I want to get this to you A.S.A.P. Please write back as soon as you can!  
  
She sealed the letter very carefully, wrote "confidential," on the outside, and sent the letter off.  
  
***  
  
It was a week before Lily got Tara's reply. Parts of the lettering were smudged as if it had been written in a hurry.  
  
Lily,  
Aaah!!! When I got your note, I couldn't believe it! Poor Sevy...I can' believe he got mixed up with Voldemort! I...I don't really know what to tell you, Lily. I don't know what you can do...I don't know what to do myself. Just...keep a watch on him and make sure he doesn't do anything rash or disappear for forever without anyone noticing. Maybe he'll be able to find a way out soon. Ugg! I can't believe James did that! My term I set was that James had to someway make up to Sev what he did on the day of their O.W.L.S. This wasn't quite what I had in mind. I'm not sure if this fulfills it because he only found out the information he's keeping secret by stealing your personal letter. That's...annoying to say the least. Tell you what–why don't you tell him I'll think about it. Well–write back soon Lily–I'm sorry I'm not there to help you and Severus!  
Love,  
Tara  
  
Lily sighed as she finished reading the letter. Some irrational hope inside her had said that Tara's letter would make everything better, but she knew that Tara couldn't really do anything.   
  
***  
  
Months passed and Lily followed Tara's advice and watched Severus from afar. Surprisingly, Lily didn't notice any strange behavior. Severus had even stopped glaring at or ignoring her. She thought she even caught him giving her half smiles every once in a while. Tara had been right; he must have realized how much he missed her and forgave her, even though they couldn't really be friends.  
  
Over this time, Lily was insanely busy. She had almost double work to do to catch up from skipping a year and all of her Head Girl duties took up the rest of her time. When Quidditch practices started becoming very frequent, she knew she had to quit.   
  
Talking to the coach about it was easy. He explained his sadness, but said he understood how busy she was and how hard it was for her to play against her former teammates. Explaining the situation to James, however, was not so simple.  
  
"But, you can't quit the team," he protested before she could even finish her explanation.  
  
Lily sighed. "But James...I have to! First of all, I don't have time to go to practices..."  
  
"I could talk to the Headmaster about lessening your responsibilities as Head Girl," he jumped in.  
  
"Secondly," she said, ignoring his interruption, "it is hard for me to play against my old team and house. I feel like a traitor."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "But you're not, Lily! They're the ones who betrayed you!"  
  
"It doesn't matter!" she said, exasperated. "It's how I feel and that's that. There's nothing you can say or do to make me chance my mind, so you might as well give it up, ok?"  
  
Her face softened at seeing his hurt expression. "Please, James, this is hard for me, but I think it's the right thing to do. Please...just trust me ok?"  
  
"Ok, Lily," James said softly. "I'm sorry I was so...difficult,"  
  
Lily smiled. "It's ok," she said giving him a hug. "Thanks for caring about me."  
  
"Um," he said slowly, sounding embarrassed, "speaking of caring..."  
  
"Yea?" Lily asked slowly.  
  
James laughed nervously. "I was wondering if you would go with me to the next Hogsmeade weekend?"  
  
Lily almost gasped in surprise but recovered with a little smile. "I'd love to James," she said pulling back from the hug. _"James Potter is asking me out...wow..._" she thought to herself.  
  
***  
  
Through the following months, James and Lily started dating a lot more often. She could hardly believe that she was being known as James' girlfriend throughout the school. The only time she minded this was when Severus would give her sad looks. She wished she could go talk to him and explain everything.  
  
The best part of it was how great James was. They could talk about anything, well almost anything. He was so thoughtful now that he had grown up. He would take her on walks with him around the lake, leave little presents for her, and just be a good friend.   
  
Over Christmas break, the whole Gryffindor gang decided to stay at Hogwarts. Lily had had an impossibly hard time coming up with presents for her friends that year. She looked in store after store and finally decided to give them all a personal note and a book of pictures of them together. She sent them to the four Gryffindors, Tara, and even Severus, even though she was a bit apprehensive about that.  
  
Tara sent her some french chocolates and a very chic outfit, the latest fashion so Tara said. The marauders, as usual, gave her a box of treats. Peter this time, however, included a shirt that said "Die Slytherin!" and a little note about how she had finally seen the light. Lily wondered if she had ever truly liked him.  
  
James had given her a special note with plans for the evening. He had prepared a romantic dinner for her; Lily couldn't wait.  
  
Just as Lily was finished opening her presents from her family, an owl soured into the room and dropped a letter in Lily's lap. It was from Severus.  
  
Dear lily,  
I just wanted you to know how much you have meant to me as a friend over the years. Thank you for everything. If you ever really need anything, I am here for you. My first loyalty is to you and my friends.  
Love,  
Severus  
***  
  
The dinner had gone perfectly that night, and Lily was exhilarated. They were walking around the lake, hand in hand, in silence, just enjoying the night. Suddenly, James stopped and Lily, surprised, went a pace farther than him before realizing it. She turned around to face him.  
  
"Anything wrong?" she asked, slightly concerned.  
  
James grinned a little nervous, half grin. "I think I need to tell you something," he said slowly.  
  
Lily grinned back. "Um, ok..." she said waiting.  
  
"I–I'veneverfeltthiswayaboutanygirlbefore..." he rushed out before pausing for breath," and...IthinkIloveyou."  
  
Lily's eyes widened in surprise. "What was that again?" she asked teasingly.  
  
James blushed a little. Lily had never seen him this nervous. "You heard me, Lily."  
  
Lily grinned. She was surprised she was this calm. "James," she said slowly, "I think I love you too."  
  
"You do!?" he asked, almost yelling.   
  
"Yes," Lily said grinning even more.  
  
James took a step closer to her. "Well, then," he said pulling her in and kissing her sweetly on the lips. Lily felt warmth go through her whole body, and never wanted it to end. When they pulled away after a moment, Lily smiled looking up into James' deep eyes through the lenses of his glasses.   
  
She really was in love.  
  
  
(A/N) I can't write romance. I'm sorry, y'all...it was pathetic I know...*sighs* 3 more chapters and then the saga's over! *sighs sadly*   
  
  



	18. The Three Most Noble Things

(A/N) THIS IS SO SAD–I CAN'T BELIEVE MYSELF! Ok...enjoy! *wel* :D  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or it's characters.  
  
  
Ch. 18: The Three most Noble Things  
  
The next few months flew by for Lily. She spent most of her free time with James and loved every minute of it. He had really transformed from a few years before.  
  
One day at breakfast, she was surprised when her charms teacher came up to her and asked her to follow him. With a confused look back at James, Sirius and Lupin, she stood up and went with him. He led her to the staircase that led up to the Headmaster's office.  
  
"Miss Evans," the professor said, "the Headmaster has some...news...for you. Go up the stairs and knock on the door and he'll let you in."  
  
"Ok," Lily said slowly. What possible news could the Headmaster have for her? "Thank you, professor," she said as she started climbing the stairs.   
  
At the top, Lily knocked on the door and it swung open. Sitting at the desk was the Headmaster just as he had been when she had changed houses.   
  
"Hello, Miss Evans," he said slowly, motioning to a chair. "Please sit down."  
  
Lily obeyed, still as confused as ever. "I heard you had some news for me," she said.   
  
"Yes, I'm afraid so," he said quietly.  
  
"You're afraid so?" she asked apprehensively. "Have you decided to put me back into my own grade?"  
  
The Headmaster shook his head, looking down at his hands. "No, Miss Evans, it's nothing like that. You are doing wonderfully as always. The problem is, well...I think I better just say this straight out. I am sorry but your parents have been killed in a muggle car accident."  
  
Lily stared at him. She must have heard him wrong; this wasn't real. He was joking. It was a dream. It must be something! Anything!   
  
"W–what?" she finally asked, shaking her head to clear her foggy vision.  
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Evans. The notice just came, but it happened yesterday afternoon. It took your parents' friends this long to track you down," he said, finally looking into her eyes.   
  
When she didn't say anything, he continued. "The funeral is to be held in a few days. You, of course, will be transported there, most likely by the Hogwarts Express."  
  
She still remained silent, staring down at her hands. "I know this must be more painful than I can imagine," he said very quietly. "Until the funeral, you do not have to attend classes of course. You may go now," he said in an awkward tone.  
  
Lily stood up mechanically. This wasn't possible. Her parents couldn't be dead.   
  
She walked out of the office and down the stairs in a trance and started to walk. When she finally realized what she was doing, she realized she heading towards the Slytherin common room. She stubbed her toe against one of the steps and the reality of the situation came crashing down around her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she could think of only one thing. She had to talk to Severus.  
  
Lily broke into a run and sprinted the rest of the way, stopping only a foot away from the door. It was then that she realized that she didn't know the new password for the year. Desperately, she banged on the door, but no one answered.   
  
"Cleansweep," she choked out, but she didn't have much hope it would open. The Slytherins usually changed passwords once a term. "Cleansweep," she said more clearly, continuing to bang on the door. "CLEANSWEEP," she finally yelled futilely.  
  
"Mudblood," said a voice behind her.   
  
Lily spun around, anger welling up in her. How dare someone insult her at a time like this? She was surprised to see Adrienne standing behind her.  
  
Gaping, she stuttered, "A...Adrienne? Why did you call me a Mudblood?"  
  
Adrienne snorted softly. "It's the new password. I obviously didn't have any say in choosing it. What's wrong Lily?"  
  
Lily turned around and saw the open door in front of her. She turned back to look at Adrienne. "I...I need to see Severus. It's...very important," she said, tears running down her face again.  
  
"I haven't seen him for weeks...but I don't know." she said, guiding Lily into the common room. "Why don't you ask Lucius?" she said, gesturing to a corner where Lucius sat, pouring over a book.  
  
He looked up at her and hatred filled his eyes. "What are you doing in here, Evans?" he snapped.  
  
"I...I need to talk to Sev...it's terribly important," she said, trying to stop crying.  
  
"Right, so when ever he needs you, you turn your back on him and change houses...on the other hand, you get a paper cut and you come running to him to fix it for you. Some friend you are," he said, standing up and walking a step towards her.  
  
"Shut up, Lucius!" Lily sniffled. "Where is he?"  
  
Lucius snickered bitterly. "If you had been a better friend, you might have noticed that he's been gone for two weeks."  
  
Lily gasped. She had been so occupied with school and...James...that she hadn't even taken time to follow Tara's advice and keep a look out on Severus. "Where is he Lucius?"  
  
"None of your business. Besides, the truth would only hurt you," he said mockingly.  
  
"So that's the way it is," she said quietly.   
  
Lucius snorted. "Don't pretend you know what I'm talking about in hopes that I'll let something slip."  
  
"Did it hurt, Lucius?" she said looking at his arm.  
  
"What?" he asked, eyes wide.  
  
She rubbed her arm in the place she had seen Severus' dark mark. "I bet it would..."  
  
"How did you..." he stopped glancing up at Adrienne. "Haven't you got anything better to do with your time?"  
  
Adrienne looked cautiously at Lily. "Do you want me to stay, Lily?"  
  
Lily sighed. She would get more information out of him if Adrienne was gone, but she liked having her there as moral support. She took a deep breath. "No, it's ok Adrienne, you can go."  
  
"Ok," she said slowly, going up to the girls' dormitories.  
  
When the door was closed behind her, Lucius rounded on Lily. "How did you find out?" he almost screamed.  
  
"I figured it out. It wasn't that difficult. Now where did...did this Voldemort take him?" she asked, her voice shaking at the thought of Severus being with that monster.  
  
For a strange moment, Lily thought she saw concern in Lucius' eyes. "I–I don't know. None of us have been gone this long before," his voice then changed to one of cockiness. "But I'm sure he's fine if he obeys."  
  
"I'm going up to the dormitories," Lily said, her jaw set. "Maybe he left some clue on where he was going." She walked a few paces towards the dormitories.  
  
"Oh no you don't," Lucius said, blocking the way. "Get out of here before everyone else gets back from breakfast. Do you know what they'd do to you? The only thing keeping me from hurting you now is the fact that you're a girl and some stupid promise I made to Severus years ago. Now leave!"   
  
Lily tried to push past him. "I'm not going anywhere. In fact, if you don't move, I'll tell Tara what an idiot you are and forbid her as a best friend to have anything to do with you."  
  
Lucius' eyes widened in rage, but he took a step backwards. "Fine, Evans. You have five minutes to find something, then I'm personally kicking you out. It'll be hard enough to keep the other boys out of there for that long."  
  
Lily didn't even glance back at him as she stormed into the dormitories and found Severus' things. She began searching through piles of clothes and pictures. Finally, under his bed, she found the old book she had given him years ago at Christmas that recorded his three most noble deeds. She hadn't found any other clues and this for some reason seemed to hold hope. Lily was in a haze; she couldn't even remember why she was looking for Severus, but she knew she had to find him.  
  
She opened the book and was pulled in, into his memory of the third most noble thing he had ever done.  
  
***  
  
Lily saw a much younger version of herself standing in line before the sorting hat, looking very nervous, but the focus of the memory was on Severus and Lucius, sitting at the Slytherin table.  
  
"Look at that stupid red head. She'll be in Gryffindor for sure. She looks as if she's going to throw up or faint or something," Lucius said smirking.  
  
Severus shrugged. "I don't know. She's new. I feel kind of bad for her; she's just been thrown into a totally different kind of life. Besides, she's kind of cute."  
  
"What!?" Lucius said incredulously. "She's a mudblood! Are you feeling all right, Sev?" He felt his forehead. "Sometimes you worry me. If you go on making comments like that about mudbloods, you'll find yourself without friends and probably beat up more than once by people in your own house."  
  
"I know, but..." Severus started.  
  
"Just stay away from her and people like her and you'll be fine. Trust me..." he stopped as the sorting hat was placed on Lily's head.  
  
It muttered for a while before finally yelling out, "SLYTHERIN!"  
  
Everyone at the table, including Severus, gasped in shock. Dead silence followed as Lily watched herself shuffle down to the end of the Slytherin table.   
  
Finally, she saw Severus start to clap determinedly, looking as if it took every bit of will he had to do it. Lucius and the others stared in shock and started muttering, but soon other claps followed from around the room. Eventually, Severus' friends started clapping, even Lucius, to try to make it seem that what he was doing was perfectly normal.  
  
Afterwards, Severus stared straight ahead at the next person being sorted.   
  
"That was stupid," Lucius said. "You could have ruined everything."  
  
Severus grunted, but didn't turn from watching the sorting.  
  
Lily gasped. She had known it had been a big deal for him to clap, but she didn't know that even his own friends were angry at him for it.  
  
She didn't have much time to think about this, however, as she was thrown into the next memory.  
  
***  
  
Lily found herself in the forest that was about a half of a mile from her house. She would often go there when she was little when she wanted to be alone. Severus was standing there, looking very haggard and slightly wild. His hair was loose and fell around his face, and he looked the same age as he was now.  
  
"_This must have just happened_," Lily thought.  
  
She took a step around Severus, and saw a figure crouched on the ground. Lily gasped. It was Petunia, looking very afraid and bedraggled.   
  
"Get out of here!" Severus shouted at her gruffly.  
  
"But...but what was that?" she sniffled.  
  
Severus glanced over his shoulder apprehensively. "That was Voldemort and the band of Death Eaters–like me–" he said distractedly.  
  
"But–aren't you Lily's friend?" she questioned slowly.  
  
"What? How do you know Lily?" he asked, whipping around.  
  
Petunia quivered. "I'm her sister...I saw your picture in her room..."  
  
"You did? She has a picture of me in her room?" his tone softened, but then he snapped back to reality. "Get out of here, ok?"  
  
"But, won't you get in trouble? Your master said that if you didn't kill me...you'd die..."  
  
Lily shook her head in amazement. Petunia was so stupid. Why didn't she just run?  
  
Severus shook his head. "I just can't bring myself to kill an innocent girl like you, ok? Even before I knew you were Lily's sister. Get out of here now or he might find you. Go far away and pretend to be dead for a while!"  
  
Petunia stumbled to her feet, but stood still, staring at him.  
  
"Get out of here!" Severus said, giving her a shove.   
  
Glancing back every few steps, Petunia finally started running towards the town. Severus looked over his shoulder again before slumping to the ground in exhaustion.  
  
Lily was thrown into the next memory.  
  
***  
  
She found herself standing in one of the deserted hallways of Hogwarts. Severus was standing close to her, looking straight ahead. His hair was done in a ponytail and was dressed neatly in his school robes. It was quite a contrast from the last memory. Far down the hallway, Lily could just make out James hovering in the shadows.   
  
"So, I got your message," James said softly. "What do you want, grease ball?"  
  
Severus seemed not to have heard him, and kept staring straight ahead. Finally he said in a cold voice, "Why aren't you taking Lily to the ball?"  
  
"Why I don't know," James said sarcastically. "Oh yea, it might be because she hasn't spoken to me all year..."  
  
"You're going to ask her to go with you," Severus stated.  
  
James snorted. "Now why would I do that? I mean I like her and all, but I don't really want to be turned down. Besides, why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because Lily really wants to go to the ball," Severus said, looking out of a nearby window.   
  
"Then why don't you take her yourself, Snivellus? It's obvious how much you like her," James said.  
  
Severus waited a moment before saying in a quiet, bitter voice, "Because she doesn't want to go with me. She wants to go with you."  
  
"How do you know this?" James asked incredulously.  
  
"Because...because she told me," Severus said.  
  
James laughed. "Oh ho! So you were rejected? Well, I would take Lily, but I've already promised to take Tara...sorry I can't help you, not that I have any reason to want to help you..."  
  
"I..." Severus started, anger rising in his voice, "I wasn't rejected; She just told me that she wanted to go with you when she was talking about the ball. She didn't mention anyone else. Ask her...and...I'll take Tara."  
  
"Why on Earth would I do this for you?" James said, scoffingly. "We're only arch enemies after all..."  
  
"Fine..." Severus said in exasperation. "I won't give you any trouble for the rest of the year...I'll avoid you completely if you do this."  
  
James laughed a little, "No trouble at all?"  
  
"Well, only if you strongly provoke it," he said, still refusing to look at James.  
  
"Ok, fine. You've got yourself a deal," James said. "But I'm really only doing this because I like Lily and want to see her happy..."  
  
Severus turned around to walk off. "Well then it looks like we have one thing in common after all, Potter."  
  
Lily was surprised to discover that she was crying. Severus had done this for her? Severus loved her? She would have gone with him in a second had he asked.   
  
Suddenly, she was thrown out of the book to the boys' dormitory just in time to see Lucius burst in through the door.  
  
"Ok I've given you more than five minutes. You done yet?" he said, irritated.  
  
Lily nodded, trying to get control of her emotions.   
  
"Y–yes I know where he is–or at least was," she stammered. "He's in the woods by my house...I need to go help him..."  
  
Lucius laughed. "You'd only get yourself killed. I'll go if you show me where he is..."  
  
Lily nodded and went to get parchment and paper to draw a map. She had been a fool. Severus had loved her the whole time but she had never seen it.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the year went by in a flash. Her parents' funeral went by in a terrible haze. Tara came to the funeral, which was some comfort to Lily, but nothing could fully stop the pain.  
  
When she returned to school, she was relieved to see that Lucius and Severus were both there. Severus looked a little weary, but he was now wearing his hair in a ponytail and wearing clean robes.  
  
She was going to go talk to him, but she received an unsigned letter telling her that communication would be dangerous because of the mysterious whereabouts of her sister's body.  
  
It was in Lucius' handwriting.  
  
N.E.W.T.S. came and went surprisingly quickly. Maybe it was because of all of her worse problems that she didn't really care much about how she did on her tests. She studied anyways, but didn't stress. It all seemed so trivial now.  
  
Graduation was a grand affair and made her last week in Hogwarts one to remember. She couldn't believe she had finally finished school, a year ahead of what she had expected, of course, but still she felt too young to be that old.  
  
When she sat on the Hogwarts Express, holding James' hand and looking out of the window, she felt a wave of sadness come over her. She would miss the school desperately. During the hours she spent doing homework she had always imagined being extremely happy when she finally left, but it was definitely bitter sweet.   
  
She found herself missing Tara and their talks they would always have on the train.   
  
Noticing her glum expression, James put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Strange to be leaving, isn't it?" he said.  
  
"Yes...I'm ... I'm going to miss it," she said softly.  
  
"Well, we can always come and visit," James said, trying to be upbeat. "Besides, we've got the most exciting part of our lives coming up soon–it will only get better from here."  
  
Lily laid her head down on his shoulder, but continued to look out of the window at the castle until it disappeared from sight.  
  
  
(A/N) 2 chapters left–AAAH—ok please review...love all of my reviewers!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	19. A New Life

(A/N) I know I'm slow–in this chapter huge things happen—(it skips ahead about 5 years btw) 

Ch. 19 A New Life 

"Wait...I think he ran the other way," James yelled as Lily and him ran down the cobblestone street. 

Lily looked in both directions. "I'm not sure. You go that way and I'll go this way," she said, pointing down two side roads. 

"But, but...it'll be dangerous Lil..." he started. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm a trained auror, I know how to take care of myself. Now, hurry!" She called back, sprinting down one road. She changed her pace into a jog as soon as she was out of his sight. Almost sure he had gone down this way and knowing that it was a dead end, she saw no need to hurry. Then she saw him. 

Severus Snape was looking desperately at the stone wall in front of him, not noticing at first that she was there. Finally, giving up, he turned around. He was wearing his hair in that ridiculous pony tail again, but it looked strangely attractive on him. Lily felt a deep pang of regret looking at him and seeing his expression soften from one of hatred to sadness. She hadn't seen him for over two years, and then it had only been in passing. 

"Lily," he said softly, looking up at her. 

"Severus," she said, equally softly, trying to keep herself from crying. 

He laughed a bitter laugh, and took a step towards her. "So I suppose I should just turn myself in. You're the great Lily Evans, famous auror. Do you need me to do anything before you haul me away?" 

"Severus..." she stammered a little, a single tear falling down her cheek. She knew she should arrest him, he was evil, a death eather...but all she could think of was how glad she was to see him alive. "I've...I've missed you so much..." she said, feeling strangely faint and very pathetic. He probably didn't miss her nearly that much and was glad to have her out of his life forever. 

Suddenly, he ran to her, taking her into his arms and holding her. "I've missed you too, Lil," he whispered. "I...I hate this life. But, I...I can't get out!" 

"There...there must be a way," she said, pulling back from him and looking him in the eyes. "Maybe, maybe you could move to America or Japan or someplace. I'm sure you could hide from them somewhere." 

"No," he said, hopelessly. "There's nowhere I can hide from Voldemort. He's too powerful. Infact, I shouldn't even be talking to you now. I'm putting you in danger..." 

Lily laughed. "I'm putting myself in danger by being a auror anyways." 

They stood in silence, for a moment, and then suddenly Lily had a brilliant idea. "Dumbledore!" she screamed out. 

"What!?" Severus asked, glancing quickly around in all directions. Finding no one, he turned back to her. "Shh Lily. You will bring every witch and wizard within a hundred blocks here!" 

"Oh, sorry...but Dumbledore Sev!" she continued in a whisper. "Go to him! I'm sure he can help you to get out. Maybe you could be a spy or something. He's the only wizard that Voldemort fears after all..." 

Severus's eyes lit up with a look that Lily hadn't seen in him for a long time, hope. "Lily..." he said, hugging her again, "you're a genius! That just might work!" He then picked her up and spun her around in a circle. 

Lily started laughing. "Yes, now...put me down!"she said grinning. Finally he released her. 

"Thanks, Lil," he said, giving a little coy grin again. "And once I get my life back together, can we can be friends again?" 

"Of course," she said smiling. 

He waited a moment, looking into her eyes, and then sighed and said very uncertainly, "I wonder Lily, if after I get my life together again, could we ever be...more than friends?" 

Lily's stomach dropped. She had hoped that Severus would be over her by now. She sighed. 

"I take that as a no, then," he said softly, and half turned away, looking embarrassed. 

"Oh Sev," she said, desparingly, "I saw your memory book...I shouldn't have–but I did. I–I just want you to know that I did love you too. I really wanted you to ask me to the ball, but I was embarrased to tell you. But now...I–I'm in love with James." 

Severus grunted as if he had been punched in the stomach. "Wow, that's...ironic, isn't it?" he said, a wry smile forming on his lips. 

"Yea," she said, smiling back. 

"So, there's no chance that I can win you back?" he said, hope rising in his voice. 

Lily sighed. "Severus...James and I are getting married tomorrow." 

Lily felt terrible as she saw an expression of intense pain go over Severus's face. He recovered quickly, pushing the pain down inside of him. 

"Well," he said sighing. "Then I guess this is my last chance." 

"Last chance to do wha..." she cut off as Severus pulled her into a passionate kiss, releasing all of his frustration and feelings into that kiss. After a while, Lily finally remembered where she was and pulled back. 

"Severus..." she said breathlessly, "I...that–that isn't going to change my mind..." 

Severus sighed giving his coy grin again. "I know it, but I've wanted to kiss you for so long, and it was my last chance..." 

Just then, they heard the sound of running footsteps coming up behind them. 

"James," Lily said, sounding panicked. "He'll want to bring you in..." 

"Don't worry," Severus said, smiling. "I can get away if you release the non-aparating field you put on the area..." 

Lily nodded. She had forgotten all about that. She quickly released her portion of it, which would collapse the whole thing. Unfortunately, James would also know that she had released it because he had helped to form the spell. 

"Good bye, Lily," Severus said, walking a few paces back. 

"Good bye Sev...will you come to the wedding? I'd really like it if..." 

"Come to see you married to Potter? Are you insane?" 

"Yea–well I guess so," she said, sadness overcoming here. "I just want all of my friends to be there..." 

He sighed. "I may come by for a few seconds to see what you look like, but you won't see me. But at least you can know that I came..." 

"Ok..." she said smiling. "Thanks, and sorry. Good luck with Dumbledore." 

"Thanks," he said, as the footsteps got even closer. Finally James came in sight and Severus quickly disaparated. 

"What!?" James said, out of breath. "You let him go? Lily–" 

Lily sighed. "It was the right thing James. He's going to Dumbledore–he's going to change..." 

"So he tells you," James said, sounding unconvinced and worried. "I just don't want him to hurt you..." 

"I know him better than you do, James. I'm sorry–I know this is hard for you, but please trust me, ok?" 

"Ok," he said softly, pulling her into a hug. "I just hope he wasn't lying and isn't plotting to kill you right now." 

Lily laughed. "Kill me...Severus? Never...maybe you–but that's of no consequence to anyone..." 

James gave a cry of protest as she pulled away and walked back down the street, laughing.   
  
*** 

"Oh you look gorgeous Lily!" Tara said, beaming, but Lily saw a tear forming in her eye. Tara was, of course, Lily's maid of honor and was wearing one of the many formal Paris designed dresses that she modeled for a career, when she wasn't spying for the order, that is. 

Lily looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple, yet elegant white gown with princess sleeves and her hair was put up with ringlets coming down all around her head. Tara had done her make up, so it looked perfect. She sighed. 

"It's so weird that the day is finally here...I can't believe it," she said softly. 

Tara sighed. "Me neither. I mean marrying James...honestly girl!" she said in mock scolding. 

"Tara..." Lily started, grinning. 

"I know, I know...he's wonderful etc. etc., but I told you a long time ago I would be put out if you married James, and I have to live up to it!" She paused for a moment. "Are you nervous Lily?" 

Lily thought for a moment. "No," she said finally. "I mean it's weird moving from one stage of my life to another...but I love him so much...and I feel like this is right." 

Tara sighed and nodded. "Ok. If you had answered differently, I would have hauled you off. You can't just marry him because you feel like he's the only chance you've got...which of course is far from the truth." 

Lily grinned. "So what about you and Jean-Claude?" 

Tara burst out laughing. "Jean-Claude? I only brought him because he wanted to go to England. We're just friends with no romantic interest what so ever." 

"Sure...sure..." Lily said, smirking. 

Tara sighed again. "You have less than two minutes before we have to go march out there...I feel like I'm losing you forever..." 

"You sound like my mother..." Lily giggled. 

"Well, young lady, I'm filling in for her right now, so deal with it," Tara smirked. 

Just then, Dumbledore entered. "It's time, Lily," he said taking her arm. Lily smiled at him as Tara walked out of the tent first and onto the grounds of Hogwarts to the beat of the Wedding March. 

Lily had felt a little apprehensive about holding her wedding at her old school, but since the Potters had died a year earlier, they had no real home. It was also the only place that was truly protected from Voldemort and his followers. The drawback was that all of the guests had to arrive by carriage, but Lily and James had decided that it gave it a romantic air. 

A few moments later, Lily and Dumbledore followed Tara out into the grounds. They were surrounded on both sides by her friends and family. At the end of the aisle, James and Sirius were waiting for them. 

The wedding ceremony passed in a blur for Lily, but she remembered that it had been beautiful. She was marrying the one man she loved more than anything else in the world. 

*** 

After the wedding ceremony, they had had a lovely celebration party. Tara still didn't seem like she had fully forgiven James, but in the end she gave him a hug and told him to take care of her. She saw many of her old friends from school and work. Petunia and her husband chose not to attend. 

She didn't see Severus, but she believed that he had lived up to his word and had come, which was a comfort to her. 

When the evening wound down to a close, all of the guests got in the carriages and went off to Hogsmeade where the happy couple would board a train for their Honeymoon. Because they didn't have much time, they had decided to go to stay in Northern Scotland for a week before returning to their work in the order. 

The carriages finally reached the train station in the town, and Lily followed James onto the wedding decorated train, waving to her friends. The train jolted to a start, and Lily was reminded of the first time she had met James, on the Hogwarts Express. How her life had changed since then. 

She waved to her friends until they were out of sight. 

(A/N) Cheesy I know–but deal with it–I'm a busy college student! 

And I'm so so sorry this took so long! Thank you reviewers–I love y'all!!!!!!! 


	20. The World Isn't Perfect

  
Ch. 20 The World Isn't Perfect  
  
(A/N) Last chapter (there will be an epilogue but still). I love all of my reviewers and friends who have encouraged me in writing this story. :)  
  
Lily Potter stood looking out from her bay window. The day was warm and sunny, the first warm day in weeks. She took a deep breath and sighed. Harry had finally fallen asleep, James was at work, and Lily was left for one of her precious moments alone to think.  
  
She loved her life; she was probably the most lucky woman in the world. She didn't deserve all of the happiness she had. Despite this, she couldn't help but wonder if this was the best possible future for her life. What if she had decided to go to a muggle school and ignore her talents? What if she had decided to become a teacher at Hogwarts? What if she hadn't ma...  
  
Shaking her head, Lily sat down on the window seat. Voldemort was gaining more strength by the day and as he did she felt her thoughts become increasingly negative. It was pointless thinking of this topic again; her thoughts had strayed this way before and she had come to an important conclusion. Had she been given the chance to do it all over again, she wouldn't have changed it. Well–she might have changed a few things, but not the outcome.  
  
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Lily stood up slowly and went to answer it. Her reverie had been interrupted.   
  
"Lily..." Severus Snape said as he looked at her with an unsteady gaze.  
  
"Severus!" Lily squealed as she threw her arms around him.   
  
Laughing, Severus returned the hug before pulling away. He then looked cautiously over his shoulder. He quickly entered the house, pulling Lily and the door along with him  
  
His tone suddenly became very serious. "Voldemort's spies are everywhere. I...I only have a moment."  
  
"How have you been Sev?" Lily asked, looking up into his eyes. "I haven't seen you in years..."  
  
Severus shrugged. "Alright I suppose for someone who has no family, no real friends, is pretending to work for Voldemort and perform all kinds of awful acts but really spying for the order..."  
  
Lily drew a shuddering breath and hugged him again. "Oh Sevy, I had no idea..."  
  
Suddenly, Severus burst out laughing. "Sevy!? I had forgotten about that. It's been so long, Lil...and you've...you've got a son now."  
  
Lily grinned with pride and walked over to the cradle where Harry was sleeping. "Yes, his name's Harry...come see, but don't wake him up, it takes me hours to get him to settle down."  
  
Severus crept up on the cradle, and upon seeing the baby, shrank back a little.   
  
"Baby James," Severus said sadly. "I would have hoped for the child that he had gotten more of your good looks."  
  
"I know, poor thing," Lily said with a laugh. "Although, he does have my eyes...which were always what I liked most about myself..."  
  
Severus sighed a little and smiled a little half smile. "Yea, me too."  
  
Lily blushed a little and turned away. "So, why did you come, Severus?"  
  
Severus turned the other direction and walked to the window. "Lily, your life is in danger. Voldemort plans to attack you three sometime soon. You need to hide...you need to get out."  
  
"Does Dumbledore know about this?"" Lily asked, spinning around in shock.  
  
"I just informed him, and he told me to–well he told me I could come tell you myself. He's going to meet with you to decide what to do, but Lily," he said turning around to face her and look her directly in the eyes, "be careful. He has spies everywhere. If you pick a secret keeper, which looks to be Dumbledore's plan, make sure he or she is completely trustworthy and responsible. Don't give the job to someone like say...Peter..."  
  
Lily sighed, "Peter is a fool, but James insists on keeping the friendship going. We have to have him over sometimes and he drives me..."  
  
"I'm sorry, Lil, but I don't have much time..." Severus said, looking out of the window cautiously. "Just be careful ok?"  
  
"Ok," she said quietly, "I promise. Thank you for all you do for the order, and for me Severus. You...you were the best friend anyone could ever ask for all through Hogwarts and...now beyond."  
  
Severus turned back to her with a wry smile, but a look of sadness in his eyes. "I was always an arrogant prat, as I am now, but...I...I love you Lily."  
  
"I love you too Sev..." Lily started.  
  
"But...not in the same way," he finished. Before she could say anything, he moved towards the door and opened it. "Good bye, Lily...I don't know when the next time is when I'll be able to see you...I...I could be killed at any time."  
  
Lily walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Good bye, Sevy, and thanks," she said, surprising herself as she choked over the words.   
  
Severus pulled her in for a small hug, and then turned and walked a few paces out of the door. He suddenly stopped a couple of feet out and turned back. "By the way," he said with his half smile, "you looked absolutely beautiful in your wedding dress."  
  
So he had come. Lily smiled. "Thanks, Sevy..."  
  
Shaking his head a little, a genuine smile appeared on his lips. "So the last thing I am to hear from you is that hideous nickname?"  
  
Lily laughed. "I thought you had come to like it...it's rather endearing."  
  
"Well, I became used to it in school from you and Tara...and Jessica when she hung around, but..." he cut off.  
  
"Fine," Lily said, "what do you want me to say then?"  
  
Severus thought for a moment, and then replied, "Well, whatever you want to say, I suppose..."  
  
"Well, I want to say Sevy, Sevy. Even though it may irritate you now, there may come a day when you long for someone to call you that..." Lily grinned wickedly.  
  
"Fine, I guess it's all I'm going to get," he said, turning away resignedly and trudging away quickly.  
  
"I love you, Sevy," she said softly just before he was out of hearing range. She saw his form stiffen a little, but he continued to walk.  
  
Lily sighed and shut the door when he was out of sight. She would miss him desperately, but with so much happiness in the rest of her life, she couldn't be angry about it. The world wasn't perfect. She had just sat down again when she heard Harry start to wake up, and she actually was glad. James would be home soon, too. She loved James more than life...and Harry...she would be willing to die for...  
  
(A/N) THE END!?!?!? ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like 2 ½ years of writing...I still have an epilogue but still! I love all my reviewers and please review this last chapter.  
  
  



	21. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

(A/N—I know—you're thinking—WHAT? AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU FINALLY DECIDE TO FINISH THIS STORY? AND YOU EXPECT ME TO READ IT? I know...I'm sorry. But—here it is *sheepish grin*).

EPILOGUE

Tara walked slowly towards the grave. It had been nearly a decade since she had been able to get herself to go back to England, but now that Voldemort was gone, she didn't have an excuse anymore. She stopped when she was just within sight of where her best friend lay.

"Oh, Lily," she whispered, tears starting to stream down her face.

Then, she sat and waited.

Three weeks later, it finally happened. When Tara arrived for her daily vigil, she saw a figure standing at the foot of Lily's grave. The person's hood was drawn, but she recognized the build ... the walk. Even after all of these years.

She got up and carefully made her way closer.

When she was within hearing range, she spoke.

"I knew it," she said.

There was no response.

"I knew you would come."

Again, there was silence for a long moment. Tara started to feel the tears come again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to save her," she said.

After Tara could take the silence no longer, she was about to continue, when the person spoke up.

"There was nothing you could have done," it said.

"Well then," she said, "can we agree that there was nothing you could have done either?"

After a long moment of no response, Tara sighed and continued to speak.

"I didn't come all this way to listen to myself talk. I didn't want to have to resort to this in this setting, but I know Lily would have approved. If you don't have a decent conversation with me, I will not only tell everyone that you're alive, but I will have it written in _history_ books that Severus Snapes' official nickname was Sexy Sevy," she said.

The figure barked a laugh before it could stop itself.

"I'm getting through," she said triumphantly. "Now, turn around..."

Severus Snape turned slowly around and smirked at Tara.

"Yes, I believe Lily would have approved of your methods," he said, with a sad smile. "But before we go any further, I want to get one thing straight. You did not know I was going to be here."

Tara laughed. "Why on earth would I be here waiting in the snow all day if I didn't know you would come? Who else would I be expecting? Lucius? You just can't stand the fact that someone was smarter than you and figured out your plan." she said.

"Well, I seriously doubt you even know the potions I used in my plan exist," he said, rolling his eyes. His expression changed, though, as he looked down at her face. "It's good to see you, though, Tara, even if you are as frightfully annoying as ever. You haven't aged a day."

"Maybe I'm better at potions than you thought...but I learn the ones that are actually useful and important," she said with a small laugh. "Although, I might have changed just a _little_."

After a slightly awkward moment of staring at each other, Tara laughed again.

"This is no good, Sevy," she said, and jumped into his arms.

Taken completely aback by this show of affection, it took Severus a few seconds before he stiffly hugged her back.

"I think it's been too long since you've hugged someone," Tara said.

Severus laughed. "I didn't know that was possible."

"So fine," Tara said with a sigh as she stepped back, "I knew you didn't die the instant I heard the report. Killed by Voldemort's _snake_? Impossible. Not the great Severus. I knew you had something up your sleeve. Going out like this so you can quietly slip away was just like you. I was so sure that I came all the way from France an hour after I heard. But, I have no idea how you actually did it."

"A master never reveals his secrets," Severus said cockily.

"Too late, Sexy Sevy. I have too much on you. Not to mention the fact that I know you're alive..." she said.

Severus grunted. "Fine." He sighed and then said in a lecturing tone, "It's actually quite simple. There's a potion that makes it appear that I am dead and then fades after a few minutes. Of course, I have taken precautions to be immune to all snakes' poisons...and a potion I took constantly during the war made my body strong and resistant to being hurt. The snake thought it had killed me and moved on. Then, a simple spell to make a dead deatheater look like me for the burial...and it was done. I feel a little bad for Harry, of course, but if I am to be free from my old life...it was necessary."

Tara nodded slowly. "I understand."

"I doubt it," he said smugly.

Tara sighed. "I meant, I understand why you did it. It's impossible to go back to the way it was...so where will you go?"

Severus sighed. "I don't know. I just can't leave her..." he said, glancing back at the grave.

"She would want you to be happy," Tara said. "She loved you. In another life...if things had been a little different..."  
"Harry would have had much better hair," he said with a smirk. "Is that what you're getting at?"

Tara smiled sadly. "Well, that's debatable old friend," she said. "But, what I was also getting at is, you should come with me."  
"To France? Wouldn't your husband and children mind?" he asked.

"I never married, Sev. I came close a few times, but things never worked out. So anyway, it's perfect. I'll be there for you and make sure you don't pine your life away. It's what Lily would want," she said, placing her hand on Severus' shoulder.

She looked down at the gravestone. "We don't have to get over her death completely, but I think we both need to move on. We need to say goodbye."

Severus stood there for a few minutes, but then finally nodded.

"Goodbye my dearest friend," Tara said, her words catching in her throat. "Until we meet again. My life was so much better because I knew you."

Severus placed two fingers to his lips and then touched the gravestone. "Goodbye Lily Evans. Since we met, I've lived my life for you, and it was worth it."

They waited in silence until the sunset faded from the sky.

Tara took Severus by the hand and they slowly walked from the cemetery.

A/N Wow, that wasn't how I was originally going to end it, obviously, since many of the books hadn't come out when I originally planned it. I decided recently, though, that Sev was MUCH too cool to die the way he did in the 7th book. Sorry if you guys find this cheesy. It has been a long time since I've written ANYTHING, so I'm trying to get back into the groove of things.

The original epilogue would have been similar, but only a few years after Lily's death, and Sev wouldn't have left with Tara forever, obviously.

I was really upset about a lot of things in book 7 that I thought could have gone better directions...but then I saw a bit of the 2nd movie and realized... I STILL LOVE HARRY POTTER SO MUCH. So, I decided to finish my fanfics. It's good practice to get back into writing anyways. I hope I didn't butcher this too badly. If this reads like the epilogue from book 7—someone please stop me. teehee.

I love ALL of my readers. You're awesome.


End file.
